Plegridy

[agent107]

hello everyone,

Any thoughts about this new drug? [a chunk of quick goole search below]

agent 107



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[agate, i see you are a bit knowledgeable about this drug]

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[SalpalSally]

My opinion.....Just another glorified Avonex, to make Biogen some more money.

[Frog42]

My opinion.....Just another glorified Avonex, to make Biogen some more money.

I agree, Sally. I don't trust Biogen as far as I can throw them...and that's not far at all!

[agate]

Well, they're saying you won't have to take Plegridy as often as the other interferon drugs, and that sounds good. I'm sure these drugs are pretty profitable for Biogen, but if they're providing something genuinely helpful for some people, we can't say that Biogen Idec is "just" making money. They've at least come up with some drugs that help some people--sometimes.

That's a lot better than anyone had been doing up to about 20 years ago.

[Lazarus]

I'll read about it

Thanks for the post. I do very little research during the summer so had not even heard about it. I'll read and come back here. Just wanted to say thanks.

[Lazarus]

Ok..I have been reading...

It does sound like it is just a version of one of the interferons which have a 36% advantage in helping RRMSers.

The results showed a slightly higher benefit because people dose more often. So, it must be a version of Avonex since Betaseron already doses every day. Since I now use chemo therapies I am not paying attention to the interferon research. But, dosing more frequently seems like a good idea to me. When I did IVIg for 7years, we discovered that the positive effects wore off with monthly infusions and we moved to an every other week schedule and that really helped.

Anyway, interesting.

[Cherie]

It is interferon beta 1a (Avonex) in a twice weekly sub Q dose rather than weekly IM dose. The formula has changed slightly too. FDA gave approval for trials to begin so we already have the lab and animal trials out of the way and, fast tracked, it may come to market 2-4 years from now. Nothing this year.

[agate]

According to one of the articles mentioned above, this is the proposed dosage:

Plegridy, dosed once every two weeks, showed numerically greater treatment effect than when dosed once every four weeks.

(from Medical News Today, March 21, 2013)

That's much less often than any of the current interferon MS drugs.

As I understand it, PEGylation has been used here to extend the half-life of interferon beta-1a (Avonex/Rebif). According to Wikipedia,

PEGylation, by increasing the molecular weight of a Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register..., can impart several significant pharmacological advantages over the unmodified form, such as:

• Improved Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register... solubility
• Reduced dosage frequency, without diminished efficacy with potentially reduced Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...
• Extended circulating life
• Increased Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register... stability
• Enhanced protection from proteolytic degradation

PEGylated drugs have the following commercial advantages also:

• Opportunities for new delivery formats and dosing regimens
• Extended patent life of previously approved drugs

So you'll get your Avonex or Rebif drug ingredients but need to dose up with them less often.

[SalpalSally]

I thought it was every two weeks, rather than twice a week??

[agate]

Sally, in this study they're trying two possible dosages for Plegridy--once every 2 weeks, and once every 4 weeks. They're reporting on the first year of a 2-year study and saying that the dosage of once every 2 weeks seems somewhat more effective:

The ADVANCE trial is a two year study comparing peginterferon beta-1a given either once every two weeks injection or once every four weeks with placebo.
Results from the first year of the study were announced by the manufacturer in a press release in May 2013. These showed that, compared to placebo, peginterferon beta-1a reduced the relapse rate by 35.6% in the two week dosing group, and by 27.5% in the four week group. This reduction is similar to the rate seen with beta interferon 1a.

Or at least that's how I read it. The quote is from

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