Bayer HealthCare: Betaferon's safety record proven in follow-up trial

BERLIN German drug maker Bayer HealthCare said a 16-year follow-up to a clinical trial of one of its multiple sclerosis drugs supported the drug’s safety record.

Bayer said results of the follow-up study for Betaferon (interferon-beta-1b), published Tuesday in the journal Neurology, revealed no new or unexpected harmful side effects emerging with long-term therapy, while observed side effects related to the drug decreased over time. The drug is marketed in the United States and Canada as Betaseron.

“These data confirm that Betaferon has a favorable safety and tolerability profile,” lead study author and University of Chicago neurology professor Anthony Reder said. “Over the years, healthcare professionals have been able to greatly reduce treatment-related adverse events and increase patients’ adherence to Betaferon therapy with dose escalation at initiation of therapy and the routine use of an autoinjector and co-medication with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.”