German pharma hails progress against multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferers should soon have access to a range of drugs that offer better protection against relapses and make treating the disease considerably easier, according to Birgit Fischer, general manager of the German pharma association VFA. In a statement marking World MS Day 2011, she noted that the first of these new drugs reached the market earlier this year and “by 2013 four more could follow.”

MS afflicts over 2 million people worldwide and around 130,000 in Germany. In around 90% of cases the disease progresses in fits and starts, with sudden flare-ups followed by remissions. There are drugs available to alleviate this “relapsing-remitting” form of the disease. If taken on a constant basis they can prevent around a third of relapses. All these drugs need to be injected once or twice a week, however. And they only work for around 70% of patients.

First oral drug, fingolimod, now available