| Symptoms and
Diagnosis - MS symptoms result when the immune system attacks myelin, the fatty tissue that acts as protective insulation surrounding nerve fibers of the central nervous system (the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves). Myelin is destroyed and replaced by scar tissue, called sclerosis, in multiple places in the central nervous system and some underlying nerve fibers are permanently severed. When myelin or nerve fibers are lost or damaged, the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses and send signals to and from the brain is disrupted.
MS is not considered a
fatal disease.
Although most people with MS have a
normal or near-normal life expectancy, symptoms of MS
are unpredictable, vary from person to person, may be
permanent or may come and go. MS can cause blurred
vision or blindness, loss of balance and coordination,
paralysis, slurred speech, numbness, fatigue, emotional
lability, and problems with memory and concentration.
Magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred method of
detecting the presence of MS lesions and plaques, areas
of damage or scarring in brain or spinal cord, because
the contrast of the tissue images produced by the MRI is
significantly better than that from techniques including
computed tomography or CAT scanning.
Major Pharmaceutical and Biotech Players - The MS
drug market is presently dominated by interferon-based
drugs since the introduction of Betaseron®
by Montville, NJ-based Berlex Laboratories, a U.S.
affiliate of Berlin, Germany-based Schering A.G. (NYSE
ADS:SHR) in 1993. Other major interferon-based drugs
include Avonex®
by Cambridge, MA-based Biogen, presently
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:BIIB), launched in
mid 1996, and Rebif®
by Geneva,
Switzerland-based Serono, Inc (NYSE ADS: SRA)
and New York, NY-Based Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) in early 2002.
The only major non-interferon based market brand is
Copaxone®
(glatiramer acetate), introduced in 1996, by Jerusalem, Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
(NASDAQ: TEVA) and Parsippany,
N.J.-based Aventis Pharmaceuticals (NYSE ADS:AVE), as
distribution partner in North America. These drugs help
to lessen the frequency and severity of MS attacks,
reduce the accumulation of lesions and plaques in the
brain, and may slow the progression of disability.
Based upon our estimation, the worldwide sales of MS
drugs from these four pharmaceutical and biotech
companies alone could exceed $US 5 billion this year. Although
Betaseron®
is still the number one MS drug in the market with over
35 percent market share, revenue
growth derived from Copaxone®
appears to have
gained significant momentum.
MS Drug and Market Capitalization
Overview - Interferons,
named for their ability to interfere with viruses that
are replicating, are a group of naturally occurring
proteins that are part of the body’s natural defense
system and are normally produced by cells in response to
viral infection and other biological triggers.
Interferons beta and alpha are produced mainly by white
blood cells and certain connective tissue cells called
fibroblasts. Interferon beta helps limit the immune
response and controls damage to the nerve cells by
working like a key that fits into a special receptor on
the cell. In the cell receptor, interferon beta turns
off the chemical signal that promotes the immune
response and turns on the signal that stops this
response and the attack on the cell is called off.
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