[NewsBot]

ZURICH (Reuters) - A patient taking Novartis' multiple sclerosis pill Gilenya developed a rare and potentially fatal viral disease, the Swiss drugmaker said on Tuesday, an unexpected setback as it faces growing competition from new oral treatments. Gilenya is one of Novartis' big new drug hopes, growing 66 percent in the second quarter to $468 million. But the drug faces competition from new medicines such as Biogen Idec's Tecfidera. Novartis said it had been informed of a case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in a patient who had been taking Gilenya for MS for seven months. ...




Read the full article...

(From Yahoo Diseases)

[Kitty]

Oh my goodness.....scary, scary stuff!

[ANNagain]

For those "too tired" (and I have been there) to read the link, they are talking about PML.

Apparently there have been other cases of PML in Gilenya patients but it has been attributed to a past history of Tysabri.

The current case does not have a past history of Ty.
ANN

[tkrik]

That is scary! I am not a candidate for Gilenya but my neuro and I discussed it and decided it was not an option for me.

Anyhow, in reading the article, I wonder if the patient really had MS. It states, "The course of the underlying neurological disease was rapid with some atypical findings for MS on the MRI scans of the brain and spinal cord, as well as some unusual clinical features," Novartis said in a statement." I'm not sure if it says this was the presentation that led to the patient's dx or if this was the presentation when PML was found. I read this and thought, "Oh no! What if he didn't have MS and they gave him this med for some other neurological disease or something and they ended up with PML." It really would say a lot about getting a proper diagnosis before treatment.

[Lynn]

Sorry, but I can't help but think that whenever you roll the dice with nature it is a major gamble. I can't help but think that once you open that door by suppressing the immune system, you leave yourself wide open to all kinds of potential nasties as well as the good that comes with it.

I believe it's a risk/reward scenario. I have chosen to continue Tysabri in spite of being JC+ - for others thinking that Gilenya or all of these other massive drugs don't have a down-side, think of the size of the demon you are dealing with. This isn't a headache - be aware, be realistic - you can't fight a lion with a mouse.

[SallyC]

It's a personal decision, sometimes a bad one, most of the time
a good one, with Tysabry. The jury is still out on G & T.