Pharmaceutical giant Genzyme withdraws MS drug

Pharmaceutical giant Genzyme withdraws MS drug in order to re-brand it and sell at 20 times the original price


(NaturalNews) Thousands of British patients suffering from the
devastating chronic inflammatory disease known as multiple sclerosis
(MS) now have one fewer conventional treatment option at their disposal
thanks to the merciless greed of the Sanofi-owned pharmaceutical giant
Genzyme. The U.K.'s Independent reports that Genzyme has
intentionally withdrawn a popular MS drug known as alemtuzumab in order
to re-brand it and sell it for up to 20 times its current price.

The
drug, known as alemtuzumab, has been specifically licensed for the
treatment of leukemia. But because it also apparently works quite well
at alleviating MS symptoms in many patients, alemtuzumab is the drug of
choice for many doctors successfully treating the condition. A study
presented at the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology
back in April found that alemtuzumab actually works better than most of
the other available drugs specifically approved as treatments for MS. (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/244718.php)

Just
like in the U.S., off-label drug prescriptions are technically legal,
which is why many doctors have chosen alemtuzumab over its various
alternatives. But Genzyme, in a bid to significantly boost its profits,
has decided to pull alemtuzumab from the market in order to run it
through new clinical trials, and eventually re-brand it as "Lemtrada,"
which is expected to cost many thousands of dollars more than
currently-available alemtuzumab.

"Many of us think [alemtuzumab] is the best drug for patients with aggressive MS in the early stages of the disease," says Professor John Zajicek from the University of Plymouth, one of many who is calling on the U.K. Health Secretary to stop Genzyme
from restricting the drug's use. "It's the greedy behavior of the drug
company that upsets me. They are just trying to re-brand it and put the
price up. It is morally corrupt."


Genzyme's greed could end up needlessly killing thousands of MS patients

As
a result of Genzyme's decision, alemtuzumab will now only be available
as a treatment for leukemia patients, and not for MS patients. This is
particularly concerning to Zajicek and many others who recognize that
thousands MS patients
currently rely on alemtuzumab for relief. Many people are questioning
how Genzyme could be so heartless that it would pull a vital drug from
the market, leaving thousands of patients without treatment.

"There
is no good reason why people with MS who have been allowed to benefit
from the treatment should now be denied it," Doug Brown, Head of
Biomedical Research at the Multiple Sclerosis Society, is quoted as saying by the Independent.
"Genzyme needs to come up with a scheme, quickly, that makes their
product available to all those people currently being treated and, if
it's licensed, price the drug reasonably so it is deemed cost effective
on the NHS (National Health Service)."

Since MS is a chronic
inflammatory disease, there are also a number of natural remedies that
may help quell this serious disease and provide lasting relief without
the need for pharmaceutical drugs. Here is a great article by our own
Dr. David Jockers that explains some natural strategies for beating MS: http://www.naturalnews.com

Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/037581_Genzyme_MS_drugs_profiteering.html