UPDATED: Biogen sees 'unlikely' link between Tecfidera and patient's demise

Biogen Idec ($BIIB) had a bumpy day on Wall Street Monday. A report from BioPharm Insight noted that a patient who had taken Biogen's new multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera had died, prompting a quick drop of about 3% in the biotech group's stock price, which recovered to about even later in the day.
A Biogen spokeswoman told Reuters that the death of the 59-year-old woman occurred two weeks after she stopped taking Tecfidera because of gastrointestinal problems. The MS patient had suffered from a form of pneumonia prior to her death. The news service reported that the death was unrelated to the GI problems, and the company said that it is "unlikely" that Tecfidera caused the fatal case.
The drama underscores the high visibility of Tecfidera, for which analysts have projected eventual peak sales of more than $3 billion. As long as the safety profile of the therapy remains within an acceptable range, Tecfidera could become the best-selling drug in the growing class of oral MS drugs, which includes such meds as Aubagio from Sanofi ($SNY) and Novartis' ($NVS) Gilenya.


Read more: UPDATED: Biogen sees 'unlikely' link between Tecfidera and patient's demise - FierceBiotech http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/biogen-recovers-tecfidera-scare-after-report-about-patient-death/2013-07-22#ixzz2k3oWkl63
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