Daclizumab Passes Trial
Biogen Idec Inc. and PDL BioPharma Inc. said Monday a midstage clinical trial using daclizumab along with interferon beta met its primary endpoint for treating multiple sclerosis.In a Phase II clinical trial, 230 patients were given either daclizumab or a placebo and then given interferon beta, a protein that helps the immune system.
Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable neurological disease when the tissue insulating nerve fibers become damaged with lesions.Patients given daclizumab every two weeks had a significantly reduced lesions at week 24 compared with those in the placebo group.
Full results will be presented at a medical conference later in the year.As a result of the successful study, the companies plan to start a midstage clinical trial that uses daclizumab alone as a multiple sclerosis treatment.Biogen and PDL are partners in developing the drug as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. The drug is already marketed by Hoffman-La Roche under a license from PDL as the kidney organ rejection treatment Zenapax.
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