Copaxone to have a boxed warning because of a rare serious reaction

[agate]

Of all of the MS drugs flooding the market, Copaxone (Glatopa, glatiramer acetate) is one of the oldest and has often been said to be the safest. It's also not the most effective of the lot, apparently. Though nobody here may be taking it just now, I was on it for a total of about 6 years. The IPIR or immediate post-injection reaction has been discussed often on this board and elsewhere, and over the years I noticed how some people describing that reaction when they had it were talking about something that sounded much more serious than the drug company's version.

The drug company would always tell people not to worry about that post-injection reaction. You may think you're having a heart attack or a stroke but it will go away if you just tough it out for half an hour or so. But some people were reporting trips to the ER and reactions that lasted much longer than half an hour.

Now, about 20 years later, it turns out that this harmless post-injection reaction can be confused with a much more serious anaphylactic shock reaction, which over 80 people taking glatiramer have had--and 6 of them have died. The FDA apparently decided that the time had come to label the drug with a boxed warning about it. It's a rare reaction but it does happen.

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[Virginia]

I read this yesterday and was hoping you were aware Agate. I was so surprised to read this. Glad you are off of it. I had a really bad reaction that didn't last just 30 minutes but all day. Still, it wasn't an allergic reaction.

[agate]

I'd forgotten that you'd tried Copaxone and had that reaction, Virginia. The drug company kept saying that it was impossible for there to be an allergic reaction to this drug, and yet I kept noticing people saying that they had had one. Looks as if at least some of them weren't misstating or exaggerating.

I have doubts about any new drug, and a "new" drug might be one that's been around for only 20 years. That's not long enough to see how a drug affects a person over a lifetime. I have big doubts about the new weight-loss drugs even though they're being highly praised.