BG-12

[Twenty Miles]

Did a search and did not find anything on here.

What have you heard regarding this new treatment?

[Moosette]

I also am learning/ wanting to learn about this drug...I found this website that supplied some info about it though..from what I understand it has some very positive results in the clinical trials and side effects have not shown to be as drastic as with drugs like Gilenya http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuse...ow/pageid/1679

[Twenty Miles]

I am also curious. The material I can find makes it sound like this will become THE treatment for MS in the near future.

I'm surprised it isn't being discussed more.

[TLC_31]

If you search for "BG12" you will find several threads that mention it and discuss it a little. In one, user "roxy118" says she is in the clinical trials, although she has not logged in for months.

I also find a good summary from "Myoak" posted on 10/28/11:

Just my opinion... but BG-12 may become a prime treatment option. It has a very favorable safety profile compared with current MS meds, it is oral, and BG-12's effectiveness is quite good.

According to the press releases I've been looking at,

1. BG-12 reduced the risk of relapse by 49%-50%
2. Reduced the annualized relapse rate by 48%-53%
3. Reduced risk of disability progression 34%-38%

Mri's performed at baseline, 24 weeks, one year and two years showed BG-12...

1.Reduced the mean # of new or newly enlarging T2 hyperintense lesions by 74%-85%
2.Reduced the mean # of Gd+ lesions 73%-90%
3.Reduced the mean # of new T1 hypointense lesions 63%-72%

Bg-12 appears to be a potential blockbuster. Biogen will have no qualms about pricing it as such, so it could easily cost $3500- $4000 per month, if not more, Tysabri and Gilenya are already priced in that range.

As news develops and it comes closer to market, I'm sure we will discuss it more. Don't misinterpret our quiet for lack of anticipation!

[Twenty Miles]

Aha, I searched for "BG-12" instead of "BG12".

Yes it looks good, oral, with 50% success. Almost sounds too good to be true.

[cranberrysauce]

My neurologist talked to me about it this week, he's very excited about it.

In fact, he's a co-author on a paper that just came out that is sort of an overview to the current drugs on trial. Its in the Annals of the New York Academies of Society called "new and emerging disease modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis".

I'm a PhD student at a university with a medical school so I have access to lots of medical journals. I'm a biochemist by training but with algae, not people, so its a tad over my head but the scientist in me likes reading the actual medical studies from time to time.

BG12 seems promising because its essentially a newer form of a drug that's already been very safely used for psoriasis. It looks to modulate the immune system and be an antioxidant, so it will "treat" the MS in two ways. It is oral and the side effects include flushing, diarrhea and elevated liver enzymes (depending on dose, the trials are for a variety of doses).

It had a 38% reduction in disability compared to the placebo. 53% reduction in Annual Relapse Rate, 85% reduction in new/enlarging t2 lesions, and a 90% reduction in Gd+ enhanced lesions!

As for safety, there's apparently 50,000+ "patient-years" recorded for the use of furmaric acid for psoriasis. And, there are 14 year long studies of psoriasis patients. This newer derivative, BG12, is supposed to alleviate the GI symptoms that the fumaric acid.

My neuro said he expects to see BG12 out by the end of this year and he's following its progress very closely. I just stopped betaseron and am switching to copaxone so we've been discussing what to do a lot lately. He's hopeful that I can give copaxone a try for a year and by the time we know if its really working or not, I may have BG12 as an option!

Hope this helps!

[Redwings]

Almost sounds too good to be true.

That could be why folks haven't started talking about it much yet -- don't want to count their chickens before they hatch.

[KatieDidNOT]

I am very excited about BG-12, and so is my MS Specialist.

We might be let down, but I am going to remain hopeful.

I think as soon as word comes down that the FDA is going to release it to the General Public...the message board will light up like a Christmas tree...good or bad.

So lets hope for good!

Cranberry--Great info! You Rock!

Katie

[knuckle]

While I've posted about this earlier, you can go out and start taking Malic Acid, or even Fumaric Acid right now, no prescription required.

BG-12 is Dimethyl Fumarate, or Fumaric Acid Esters, sold as "Fumaderm" in Europe for Psoriasis by a Swiss company called Fumapharma AG, which Biogen either bought or has some sort of rights agreement to sell the drug.

Malic Acid and Fumaric Acid are part of the Kreb's Cycle, the way the cells in our bodies make energy. One component this process needs to work correctly is vitamin D.

As with Fumaric Acid, which has long been used by dermatologists to treat Psoriasis, Malic Acid has also helped improve the skin condition. Fruits, specifically apples, have high concentrations of Malic Acid. A typical apple has about 100mg. If you read about the health benefits of apples, improving skin complexion is one of them.

Malic Acid has been shown to reduce pain and fatigue in Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients and I suspect it would do the same for MSers. But why does Malic Acid do this?

Because when Malic Acid and vitamin D combine in the Kreb's Cycle the body produces endorphins. Endorphins are hormones that increase pleasure and reduce pain. Endorphins also play an important role in maintaining a healthy immune system by modulating T-cell activity.

Though it will never happen, it would be interesting to see a trial between Fumaric Acid Esters, BG-12, and just plain old Malic Acid to see if the efficacy statistics are close. Or with Fumaric Acid. Of course, no drug company is interested in a compound you can just go out and buy yourself. No one can make their own concentrated form of Fumaric Acid.

Fumaric Acid can give you the same side effects as BG-12.

Psoriasis, like MS, responds well to direct sunlight/vitamin D. That Psoriasis is prevalent in the same darker, colder, regions of the world as MS, and that Psoriasis and MS both respond well to Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN), a drug that increases endorphin production.

There is a good reason to think that MS progression can be controlled through maintaining healthy endorphin levels and an endorphin deficiency would go a long way to explaining why MS progresses differently by sex. Endorphins are hormones. For instance, when women are pregnant, endorphin levels are high, and many with MS experience remission.

I've been taking 600mg Malic Acid 2X daily along with a supplement called "L-Carnitine Fumarate", and the usual vitamin D on the belief it should only help.

[kmallory1]

My neurologist says he likes the safety data on BG-12, so I will probably go on it when it is available.

I stopped Tysabri after testing positive for antibodies to the JC virus, and agreed with him that Gilenya was not a good fit for me.

BG-12 should be available for MS treatment around the end of the year. I'm told it has minimal side effects and is a twice-daily pill.

As a 62 year old with secondary progressive, I'm looking forward to it!

[cranberrysauce]

I just signed up to go to a special lecture on the 23rd at the medical school at my university where some of the neurologists, including my MS specialist, are going to give a presentation on the MS drugs currently in clinical trials, off label uses, etc. They're supposed to be discussing different approaches to treating MS and compare current drugs on the market with the new research that's been done and try to explain all the angles one could approach drug development.

It looks like it'll be very interesting so I'll let you all know if I learn anything cool.

[Alicious]

It looks like it'll be very interesting so I'll let you all know if I learn anything cool.

Please do!

[KatieDidNOT]

Thanks Cranberry-

I am really interested too! I await your info.

Cheers--Katie