Serono Set to Start
Multiple Sclerosis
Trial of Oral Drug
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
January 12, 2005
Serono SA said it will start late-stage trials of its Mylinax pill this quarter, giving it a head start in the race to be the first to enter the market with an oral treatment for multiple sclerosis.
A two-year, Phase III trial of Mylinax, known generically as cladribine, will start slightly earlier than expected, said the Switzerland-based biotechnology company and its U.S.-based co-developer Ivax Corp. Analysts say the pill could generate peak sales of more than $1 billion and is set to beat GlaxoSmithKline PLC of the U.K. to the market with a similar drug.
Patients with multiple sclerosis currently have no choice but to inject their medicine.
Serono said it could have its product on the market in 2008, ahead of Glaxo, which plans to file its drug for approval in 2008, implying a 2009 launch.
Mylinax is an oral form of cladribine, which interferes with the way certain white blood cells linked to multiple-sclerosis spread, Serono said. Mylinax is being developed by Serono and Ivax under a world-wide agreement signed in 2002. The disease affects about two million people world-wide and symptoms include blurred vision and problems with strength and coordination. |
