More Tysabri news...good and not as good

Elan/Biogen reported today that data from two phase 3 trials suggested that Tysabri significantly reduces the rate of hospitalization in patients with Crohn's Disease who use the powerful biologic to treat the condition. Overall, the results seem to show a 31 to 51% decrease in hospitalization among patients (depending on their point in the treatment schedule). It has been known for some time that Tysabri is effective at treating auto-immune disorders like MS and Crohn's Disease, so this data reinforces that fact. It is also certainly welcome news for Elan/Biogen as the recent string of bad publicity related to the increased incidence of PML for Tysabri users.

Read more about those results here


On the PML side of things, a researcher from within Elan says that it could be possible to screen for the virus that causes PML, and then use this information to determine who would be most at risk to develop the deadly condition in the future. From that point physicians could either advise against Tysabri or implement a vigilant program to monitor for PML in those patients deemed "high risk." If the scientist's ideas are valid that would not only potentially save many lives, but also would be a boon to Biogen/Elan's sales of Tysabri. This is definitely a development worth watching in the future (I wouldn't say near term, but if you're feeling frisky jump on board a bit with the two companies and see what happens).


More from Forbes


Finally this might have been known for some time but the Journal of the American Medical Association published a report on significant weight gains among children and teens who take newer generation, "atypical" antipsychotics such as Abilify, Zyprexa, Risperdal, and Seroquel. While effective, these medications have come under fire lately as some manufacturers are accused with understating the weight gains associated with the use of them. Doubtful that anything will come directly of this report, but it could get the ball rolling for more in depth investigation into this class of drug, especially since there is an epidemic of childhood obesity across the United States.

Read a summary from the New York Times here