Pegylated interferon beta 1a. A new therapy option for treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

Pegylation of pharmacological substances was developed in the 1970s as a way of improving their efficacy and elimination and hence reducing the dosage frequency. A prominent example is pegylation of IFNα, which revolutionized the treatment of virus hepatitis in the late 1990s. Efforts have now succeeded in producing a pegylated interferon beta (PEG‐IFN‐β1a) to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and the efficacy and safety have been investigated in a phase III trial called the ADVANCE study. The 1‐year results of this randomized, double blind, multicenter, placebo‐controlled study in more than 1500 MS patients show that administration of subcutaneous PEG‐IFN‐β1a significantly reduces the annual relapse rate and disability progression. The safety and tolerability profile of PEG‐IFN‐β1a was found to be similar to that of conventional IFN‐β drugs. The most common adverse events were flu‐like symptoms and redness at the injection site. The results of this study underscore that PEG‐IFN‐β1a is an interesting new therapeutic option in the treatment of relapsing‐remitting MS that combines highly effective interferon with the established tolerability and safety profile of IFN‐β at a reduced dosage frequency.