Weston, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) said today that a European Medicines Agency committee has advised against approval of the company’s drug fampridine (Fampyra) for improving multiple sclerosis patients’ ability to walk. Biogen said it planned to appeal the committee’s opinion. The company, a major provider of MS drugs, in summer 2009 bought rights to fampridine from New York-based Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ACOR]]) for markets outside the U.S., where Acorda sells the drug under the name “Ampyra.” The drug was approved in the U.S. in January 2010.
Author: Ryan McBride
Ryan is an award-winning business journalist who contributes to our life sciences and technology coverage. He was previously a staff writer for Mass High Tech, a Boston business and technology newspaper, where he and his colleagues won a national business journalism award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2008. In recent years, he has made regular TV appearances on New England Cable News.
Prior to MHT, Ryan covered the life sciences, technology, and energy sectors for Providence Business News. He graduated with honors from the University of Rhode Island in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. When he’s not chasing down news, Ryan enjoys mountain biking and skiing in his home state of Vermont.
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