Home » Drug Information » FDA-Approved Drugs » 1997
Medical Areas: Neurology
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Drug Information
The following information is obtained from various newswires, published
medical journal articles, and medical conference presentations.
Company: Teva Pharmaceutical
Approval Status: Approved January 1997
Treatment Area: Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
Copaxone has been approved for the treatment of
relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
In a two-year multicenter, randomized, double blind,
placebo-controlled trial of 251 patients, copaxone (glatiramer
acetate for injection) was shown to reduce relapses by an average
of 29 percent when compared with placebo.
The most common side effects associated with the use of copaxone
included injection site reactions, flushing, chest pain, weakness,
infection, pain, nausea, joint pain, anxiety and muscle
stiffness.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often progressive disease of
the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord and optic nerves),
which affects 300,000 people in the United States (approximately
10,000 people are diagnosed each year). The disease most often
appears in people between the ages of 20 and 40. Approximately 73
percent of people with multiple sclerosis are female.
