Weston, MA-based biotech Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) and Elan, its Dublin-based partner, have asked U.S. and European health regulators to approve a new prescribing label for the companies’ multiple sclerosis drug natalizumab (Tysabri) in an effort to reduce the risk of a potentially lethal brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PLM) in patients who take the treatment, according to a press release. The requested prescribing label would include whether a patient who is being considered for natalizumab treatment has an anti-viral antibody whose presence is one of multiple factors that help doctors tell whether or she is at risk of developing PML.
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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