December 26, 2014
British Columbia’s PharmaCare drug program has announced that it will fund AUBAGIO, a therapy developed by Genzyme for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. AUBAGIO (teriflunomide) 14 mg has been officially added to PharmaCare’s provincial formulary as a first-line oral agent for patients suffering from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).
As an immunomodulator with anti-inflammatory properties, AUBAGIO is specially indicated for RRMS and has been proven effective in the reduction and frequency of clinical exacerbations due to MS, as well as in delaying the progression of physical disability. The monotherapy was approved in Canada in November of last year, and even though its mechanism has not been completely understood, Aubagio is able to decrease the amount of activated lymphocytes in the central nervous system (CNS).
“We are pleased to have an additional therapy available to us in the treatment of MS. Having access to this new oral therapy will allow us to tailor our treatment to our patients’ needs. We are grateful to the provincial drug program in BC for approving access to this therapy in 1st line,” said Virginia Devonshire, who is a Clinical Assistant Professor Neurology at the UBC.
Genzyme’s development of AUBAGIO included a clinical program that involved more than 5,000 trial participants in 36 different countries. Moreover, the company has also studied the progression of patients who were treated in extension trials for up to 10 years, and the researchers demonstrated that the therapeutic’s benefits have extended throughout the duration of the treatment
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