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Biotech / Medical : Teva Pharmaceuticals -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rkrw who wrote (247)	8/15/1998 11:47:00 AM
From: Harold Engstrom	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 340

Actually, that is not true. COP-1 has not proven its efficacy does not deteriorate with time. The company says it has data to prove that, but it does not pass the test of statistical significance with the FDA. On the other hand, only Biogen's data has passed the test of time and the test of statistical significance and has the label to prove it - IT SLOWS THE PROGRESSION OF MS. Up to 20% of Betaseron patients may develop antibodies within two years, but something on the order of 3% of Avonex (Biogen) patients ever develop antibodies. (Antibodies inhibit the effectiveness of the treatment). And while some people may never experience side-effects from COP-1, many do - a greater percentage than those taking Avonex and the side-effect profile is harsher as well. There will always be cases where one drug works better for an individual than another - that is a good thing for MS patients (to have a choice and select the best treatment for herself) - but overall, Biogen's Avonex is superior to COP-1 and has the data to back it up. All Teva has is a nice press release about a less-than-rigorous study that they paid for. That said, I am impressed with Teva and am a shareholder of both Teva and Biogen.