Phase III data from the DEFINE trial confirming that oral BG-12 (dimethyl fumarate) effectively prevents relapse in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis have been published (N. Engl. J. Med. 2012;367:1098-107). The drug was almost equally effective regardless of whether it was given two or three times daily, and the benefits were seen at 2 years. These data were originally reported at the Fourth Cooperative Meeting on Multiple Sclerosis and published in Clinical Neurology News.
Also published this week were other phase II trial data from the CONFIRM trial showing the same thing – that when given at a dose of 240 mg two or three times daily, oral BG-12 significantly reduced the rate of relapse, the proportion of patients with a relapse, and disease activity as measured by a range of MRI end points as compared with placebo (N. Engl. J. Med. 2012;367:1087-97). These data were originally reported at the Joint Congress of ECTRIMS/ACTRIMS and were published in Clinical Neurology News as part of the DEFINE trial story.