Panel Urges FDA to OK Multiple Sclerosis Drug

The first drug to slow the progression of multiple sclerosis instead of just treating its symptoms moved a step closer to market Monday.

Scientific advisors unanimously urged the Food and Drug Administration to approve Biogen Inc.’s injectable drug Avonex to treat the incurable neurological disease.

The recommendation was based on a study showing Avonex reduced MS progression by 37%. But the panel warned that no one yet knows how long Avonex works or what is the best dose.

The FDA is not bound by advisory decisions but usually follows them.

The only preventive drug now sold for MS patients is Betaseron--also taken by injection--that helps stem flare-ups but has not been proved to slow the disease’s progression and appears to have more side effects than Avonex.

MS is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. It can cause fatigue and impair sight, balance, coordination and muscle strength. As many as 300,000 Americans are thought to have MS.