Serono Rebif
This article was originally published in Pharmaceutical Approvals Monthly
Executive Summary
Results from a head-to-head study comparing the multiple sclerosis treatment with Biogen's Avonex are expected in the third quarter, allowing for a launch as early as mid-2002, the firm predicts. Rebif's introduction has been delayed by the orphan exclusivity of Avonex, which runs out in May 2003, and Berlex's Betaseron (interferon beta 1-b), which expired in 2000. Demonstrating product superiority would allow Serono to break Avonex's exclusivity. Rebif sales outside the U.S. almost doubled in 2000, to $254 mi