Biogen shares drop on 10th Tysabri PML case - Boston Business Journal:

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The patient, who lives overseas and had been taking Tysabri for more than 30 is the 10th person to come down with PML sincde the multiple sclerosis drug was allowed back onto pharmacu shelvesin 2006. Three of those cases have been diagnosesthis month. The news prompted to lower its ratint onBiogen Idec’s stock to “hold” from “buy.” Investors responded with a sell-ofd that pushed shares of Biogen (Nasdaq: down 6 percent, to $46.99, at 1:21 p.m. which Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Idec produces at its manufacturinvg facilityin Virginia, is seen as a critically important product for the company and its partnet on the drug, Irish pharma Elan (NYSE: ELN).
Tysabri was intenderd to be an improved treatment for MS that could take the placre of blockbuster MStreatment Avonex, Biogen’s top-selling drug and one also made in RTP. But Tysabrio has had trouble with PML since first coming on the marketin 2004. The drug was shelves by the in 2005 because threew patients who had taken Tysabri in clinicap trialsdeveloped PML, with two of the cases fatal. The FDA allowed Tysabri back on the market a year latert under a special risk monitoring Tysabri has worked well to combaft multiple sclerosis symptoms in patients but it has not generatexd the revenue the Biogen and Elan had projected due in most part to PML The three PML cases reported this montyh have come in patients who had taken Tysabro for 30 months or and fears are growing that prolonged exposure to Tysabri increases the riskof PML.
Biogebn Idec disputes that Still, some doctors have started givinh patients a holiday from Tysabri in an efforr toavoid PML. In such scenarios, a patientg takes Tysabri for two yearsd before taking a break from the drug and turningb to other therapiesfor treatment. That trend is puttingg further downward pressure onthe drug’s sales. Biogeb Idec said in February that it would strugglse to meet its goalof 100,00o Tysabri patients by 2011. The news of yet another PML case likely puts that target even further outof reach.