Early Line Dominance of Teva’s Copaxone and Biogen Idec’s Avonex in the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

According to the report, 48 and 43 percent of surveyed neurologists expect to decrease their first-line use of Copaxone and Avonex, respectively, by 2012, while 45 and 38 percent of respondents expect to increase their third-line use of each respective therapy. Meanwhile, approximately half of surveyed neurologists do not expect to adjust their prescribing of Copaxone, Avonex or any other IFN-beta therapies in any line of treatment over the next two years.

“While the launch of the first oral disease-modifying therapies will no doubt be a transformative event in the treatment landscape for multiple sclerosis, many surveyed neurologists say they do not expect to change their prescribing habits over the next two years, which demonstrates how entrenched Copaxone, Avonex and the other IFN-beta therapies are in the treatment algorithm for multiple sclerosis,” said Decision Resources Therapeutic Area Director Bethany Kiernan, Ph.D. “The fact that the prescribing trend is similar for Copaxone and all of the IFN-beta agents suggests there is little differentiation in the minds of neurologists in the suitability of these agents for use in early lines of therapy, making it critical for product marketers to emphasize the advantages their product offers to capture and defend market share.”

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