German pharma makes progress in drugs to treat multiple sclerosis

'Multiple sclerosis patients can look forward to significant improvements in the treatment of the disease,' said Cornelia Yzer, general manager of the VFA, the German research-based pharmaceutical industry association. Ms Yzer's speech marked this week's World Multiple Sclerosis Day.

'Pharma groups are developing no fewer than four new compounds to prevent relapses. These could be taken in tablet form, thus replacing the regular injections that have hitherto been necessary. These compounds could even be more effective at preventing relapses than the ones in use now,' noted Ms Yzer.

Around 130,000 people in Germany and over 2 million worldwide suffer from MS, which damages and interferes with the nervous system. It scrambles messages between the brain and other parts of the body. For most patients, the disease is characterized by periods of relapse and remission, with symptoms ranging from blurred vision to weak limbs subsiding and largely disappearing for a time after attacking a patient. The drugs currently available temper acute symptoms and reduce the risk of remission by around a third.