Here’s an article by Tom Randall, explaining Elan’s afterhours sell-off. It seems like an over-reaction to me. However – warning – just because I think it’s an over-reaction is not a guarantee that the stock won’t go lower. (I tend to be early!) The conference call is tomorrow at 8:30 am est.
Biogen, Elan Report Brain Infection in Tysabri Users (Update3)
By Tom Randall, Bloomberg
Excerpt: "Biogen Idec Inc. and Elan Corp.reported two confirmed cases of a deadly brain infection in patients taking the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, the first since the drug was reintroduced in the U.S. in 2006.
The report sent shares of both companies tumbling. The two patients were in the European Union, Biogen said today in a regulatory filing. The cases of the disease, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, were confirmed this week, according to the company’s statement…
More than 31,800 multiple sclerosis patients use Tysabri, Biogen spokeswoman Naomi Aoki said. About 14,000 patients have taken Tysabri for more than a year, and 6,500 patients have taken it for 18 months or longer…
“We’ve said ever since the reintroduction that we anticipate seeing additional cases,” Aoki said today in a telephone interview. ‘Withdrawing the drug is not under consideration.’
The condition was included in the prescribing information on the drug as a possible side effect in 1 of every 1,000 patients taking the drug, Aoki said. One patient is clinically stable and is at home, Biogen said. The other patient is hospitalized." Full article here.
TYSABRI® (natalizumab) is a treatment approved for relapsing forms of MS in the United States and relapsing-remitting MS in the European Union. According to data that have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, after two years, TYSABRI treatment led to a 68% relative reduction (p<0.001) in the annualized relapse rate compared to placebo and reduced the relative risk of disability progression by 42-54% (p<0.001).
TYSABRI was recently approved to induce and maintain clinical response and remission in adult patients with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease (CD) with evidence of inflammation who have had an inadequate response to, or are unable to tolerate, conventional CD therapies and inhibitors of TNF-alpha.
TYSABRI increases the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), an opportunistic viral infection of the brain that usually leads to death or severe disability. Other serious adverse events that have occurred in TYSABRI-treated patients included hypersensitivity reactions (e.g., anaphylaxis) and infections. Serious opportunistic and other atypical infections have been observed in TYSABRI-treated patients, some of whom were receiving concurrent immunosuppressants. Herpes infections were slightly more common in patients treated with TYSABRI. In MS and CD clinical trials, the incidence and rate of other serious adverse events, including serious infections, were similar in patients receiving TYSABRI and those receiving placebo. Common adverse events reported in TYSABRI-treated MS patients include headache, fatigue, infusion reactions, urinary tract infections, joint and limb pain, and rash. Other common adverse events reported in TYSABRI-treated CD patients include respiratory tract infections and nausea. Clinically significant liver injury has been reported in patients treated with TYSABRI in the post-marketing setting.
