Betaseron linked to fewer injection site reactions

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, part of Germany's Bayer, says that multiple sclerosis patients treated with a 250mcg dose of Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) experienced less injection site pain and fewer reactions than those treated with 44mcg of Merck KGaA's Rebif (interferon beta-1a). The finding, which is based on data from the BRIGHT trial, was published in this months issue of the journal Mutliple Sclerosis.

The prospective, non-randomized observational assessment compared Betaseron administrated every other day with tri-weekly Rebif. The program included a case population of 445 patients who were treated with 15 consecutive injections of either drug over a four-to-six week period.

The results showed that significantly more patients in the Betaseron group were pain free at all the pre-specified timepoints (immediately post injection, and after 30 minutes and 60 minutes). In addition, on completion of the program, 51.8% of those who received Betaseron reported no injections site reactions, compared with only 33.8% of the Rebif group.