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Biogen receives patent until 2028 for Multiple Sclerosis drug Tecfidera

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A pedestrian passes the sign outside the headquarters of Biogen Idec Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts June 18, 2008. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A pedestrian passes the sign outside the headquarters of Biogen Idec Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts June 18, 2008.

Credit: Reuters/Brian Snyder

Tue Mar 19, 2013 4:14pm EDT

(Reuters) - Biogen Idec Inc said on Tuesday it has been granted a new patent that will help protect the market exclusivity of its multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera until 2028.

The new patent covers the dosing regimen for Tecfidera of 480 milligrams a day.

Tecfidera is expected to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of March and many analysts expect it to become the leading treatment for multiple sclerosis.

The European Patent Office also determined recently that a patent covering the same dosing regimen for Tecfidera is allowable. Once granted it too would expire in 2028.

(Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Richard Chang)
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Comments (4)
lunacsue wrote:
This truly makes me ill. This drug is from an isolated compound from cordyceps mushrooms, which you can buy from health food stores for a lot less than the $4,000 a month price tag that goes along with this “new” medication. The Chinese have been using this mushroom for thousands of years for successful treatment of immune issues and other illnesses. Big Pharma is at it again.

Mar 19, 2013 8:26pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
jorma12 wrote:
This is why I have always said research into disease should be a world-wide cooperative. We are all humans, we all have a vested interest in cures for disease; to have a company find something that could help people with such a debilitating illness as MS, which then patents that finding, giving them a monopoly on the drug for 15 years so that they can offset their R&D costs and reap huge profits, is morally wrong, in my opinion. One company can not meet the needs of a world; if this drug actually does anything, that means that the wealthy will be the recipients for the most part.

Mar 19, 2013 8:30pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
lunacsue wrote:
I wholeheartedly agree.

Mar 19, 2013 9:58pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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