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| |  ECTRIMS: Avonex (Interferon beta-1a) Shows Effect on Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis CAMBRIDGE, MA -- September 11, 2000 -- Biogen, Inc. announced that Avonex® (interferon beta-1a), the world's leading treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), has shown potential to affect one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. In the first study to show disease modification in primary progressive MS (PPMS), considered to be a particularly serious and currently untreatable type of MS, patients receiving a weekly intramuscular injection of Avonex, 30 mcg, showed a significant reduction in the size of brain lesions seen on MRI, a measure of the extent of damage the disease has caused to the brain. Data from the pilot study were presented this weekend at the 16th annual ECTRIMS (European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis) congress in Toulouse, France, by investigators from the National Hospital of Neurology at Queen Square, London. MS is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Most patients incur disability over time. MS affects approximately one million people worldwide. PPMS is a relentlessly degenerative form of the disease that progresses continually from onset without remission. PPMS is most often diagnosed in people who are older than the average MS patient. The study is the first randomized, controlled clinical trial of a disease- modifying agent in people with PPMS. PPMS is thought to affect about 10 percent of the total MS population throughout the world. Burt A. Adelman, M.D., Biogen's Vice President of Medical Research, said, "We are pleased to learn about the potential of Avonex in treating this patient population, which has a particularly devastating form of MS. In all clinical trials to date, Avonex has demonstrated proven results and excellent efficacy in the treatment of relapsing forms of MS. These results follow those of the pivotal CHAMPS trial, which showed a significant positive impact of Avonex on patients at high risk of developing clinically definite MS. These results reinforce our belief that there is opportunity for market growth in an expanding patient population." Alan Thompson, Professor of Clinical Neurology & Neuro Rehabilitation at the Institute of Neurology, University College London, said, "Given the aggressive form of the disease, we are encouraged to see that Avonex was safe and well tolerated by these PPMS patients. In light of the small size of the study, we were also pleasantly surprised to have seen some effect on an MRI parameter." The two-year study included 50 men and women between the ages of 29 and 59 who had PPMS for between two and 21 years. Patients were randomized to receive one of two doses of Avonex or placebo intramuscularly once a week. The standard dose of Avonex, 30 mcg IM, showed the best response. Related Links: Avonex (interferon beta-1a) and Biogen, Inc.
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