Long-Term Data On Schering's Betaseron

The latest results from a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of Schering Health Care's multiple sclerosis drug Betaseron (recombinant interferon beta-1b), presented at the 4th International Congress of Neuroimmunology in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, last week, indicate that the drug's benefits are maintained over four to five years.

Patients followed up after the initial three-year study (published in Neurology 1993; 43: 655-661) exhibited continued reductions in exacerbation rates and magnetic resonance imaging lesion loads. In addition, analysis of the EDSS data supports an effect on the long-term delay of disability, but this is not fully established, according to Schering. Finally, a significant correlation was established between an increase in the level of disability, as measured by EDSS scales and an increase in MRI lesion load.