Approval for Three Times a Week Copaxone!

[newone]

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[Virginia]

I wonder if the site reactions will be worse with this dosage. I was on Copaxone for 6 months many years ago and my site reactions were really bad. I am sure that for some people this will be a real relief - not to have to take it every day.

Thanks for letting us know.

[agate]

Thanks for posting this!

I took Copaxone for nearly 3 years, and I might have stayed on it longer if I'd had to inject only 3 times a week.

[stillstANNding]

I hope we can stay on every day if we want it. I don't want to inject a double dose of that stuff- it already causes significant lipo-atrophy. And can you imagine what the IPIR's would be on a double dose?

ANN

[agate]

I'm pretty sure you'll have the option of staying with the daily injection.

[renee]

YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY. Three shots/week with a couple dozen sites…. I hope this is it..

[newone]

My understanding that the amount of liquid is the same as the 20mg every day injection.

[SalpalSally]

I think 20 every other day would be enough to get the job done, but,
that means less money for the drug company. I think the doubling up
on any given day is a worry for those who are afraid of the IPIRs being
more of a risk. And site reactions also.

[agate]

You have to give these people "E" for effort. Another e-mail came my way today, and it amazes me that I'm still in their system at all, after stopping Copaxone several years ago. This e-mail contained pretty persuasive evidence (IMO!) that this new dosage will mean fewer immediate post-injection reactions (IPIRs):

Approximately 16% of patients exposed to COPAXONEŽ 20 mg per mL compared to 4% of those on placebo, and approximately 2% of patients exposed to COPAXONEŽ 40 mg per mL compared to none on placebo experienced a constellation of symptoms immediately after injection that included at least 2 of the following: flushing, chest pain, palpitations, anxiety, dyspnea, throat constriction, and urticaria. In general, these symptoms have their onset several months after the initiation of treatment, although they may occur earlier, and a given patient may experience 1 or several episodes of these symptoms. Typically, the symptoms were transient and self-limited and did not require treatment; however, there have been reports of patients with similar symptoms who received emergency medical care.

Transient chest pain was noted in 13% of COPAXONEŽ 20 mg per mL patients compared to 6% of placebo patients, and approximately 2% of COPAXONEŽ 40 mg per mL patients compared to 1% on placebo. While some episodes of chest pain occurred in the context of the immediate postinjection reaction described above, many did not. The temporal relationship of this chest pain to an injection was not always known. The pain was usually transient, often unassociated with other symptoms, and appeared to have no clinical sequelae. Some patients experienced more than 1 such episode, and episodes usually began at least 1 month after the initiation of treatment.

At injection sites, localized lipoatrophy and, rarely, injection site skin necrosis may occur. Lipoatrophy may occur at various times after treatment onset (sometimes after several months) and is thought to be permanent. There is no known therapy for lipoatrophy.

Because COPAXONEŽ can modify immune response, it may interfere with immune functions. For example, treatment with COPAXONEŽ may interfere with recognition of foreign antigens in a way that would undermine the body's tumor surveillance and its defenses against infection. There is no evidence that COPAXONEŽ does this, but there has not been a systematic evaluation of this risk.

[stillstANNding]

I'll wait and see what peeps who take it say. I can afford to wait awhile- not forever- but awhile.

ANN
Agate- I thank you- the "Thanks" button disappeared again!

[PaulaKY]

Hi. I'm new to the forum. Just wanted to share that I started the new 40 mg copaxone shot today. The injection site reaction was a significant improvement over the 20 mg daily shot, yeah!! Still had a little burn and some swelling, but much improved! Hope anyone else switching has the same experience.

[agate]

Hi, PaulaKY! Welcome to the MS board!

May I ask how long you were on Copaxone in the daily form?

I recall that the site reactions calmed down considerably after about 6-8 months but never went away entirely for the arm injection sites.

It's so good to know that they seem to have come up with a new improved Copaxone.

[SalpalSally]

Welcome Paula. Great to have you.
Glad that the new Copax is working
for you.

[PaulaKY]

Hi. Thank you for the welcome! I was on the daily shots for over three years. My site reactions did not decrease at all over that time, they were pretty intense. I was really happy that the new dose seems better in that regard. I've only done two shots, but so far so good.

[NanMacan]

I've been on Copaxone more than 4 years. I use it with LDN, I start the new copaxone formulation on the 26th. Really happy to hear it really is better on the site reactions.