The first and only oral drug intended to improve walking in multiple sclerosis patients, Ampyra, was approved by the FDA in January. Acorda Therapeutics, the maker of the drug, has presented numerous studies about the effectiveness of Ampyra. After several months in general release, Ampyra has seen slow but steady sales but faced questions about effectiveness and side effects.
How Ampyra is used
Ampyra is a sustained-release Fampridine SR pill. Ampyra is intended to block some potassium in the body and restore nerve impulses. Though Ampyra has been studied for spinal cord injuries, it has been approved to help patients with Multiple Sclerosis walk more easily and more quickly. The annual cost of Ampyra is about $ 10,000 to $ 15,000 a year. What are the risks and rewards of this drug that could take no faxing payday loans to get?
How Ampyra is used
In double-blind studies, Ampyra improves walking speed in MS patients. About 35 percent of patients taking Ampyra improve their walking speed. The original studies used by Acorda Theraputics to get the drug approved relied on twice-a-day doses. As sold in the United States, Ampyra is a sustained-release pill. Ampyra is supposed to be taken in addition to other MS drugs that treat symptoms.
The numerical effectiveness of Ampyra
The statistical significance of Ampyra’s effectiveness is there – but only barely. The patients who took Ampyra in the study did improve their walking speed by a bit. Patients were able to walk 25 feet between half and .88 seconds more quickly. The statistical significance of this change is just barely above chance. If an MS patient is declining in ability to walk, though, then this less-than-a-second improvement could mean the world.
The side effects of Ampyra
There are significant side effect warnings with Ampyra. Almost 15 percent of patients experienced urinary tract infections, and insomnia and dizziness are also very common side effects. Patients taking Ampyra also reported relapses in symptoms almost twice as often as patients taking a placebo. The drug in Ampyra, Fampridine, is actually a bird poison that can cause severe human seizures.
What Ampyra’s sales look like
Acordia reported $ 3.4 million in sales for Ampyra. The first packages of the drug were sent to pharmacies on March 1. About 2,000 prescriptions for Ampyra were written between March 1 and April 29. The chance of walking just a second or two faster may or may not be worth the health care costs for many patients, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment