Betaseron® (interferon beta 1-b)

Parent company: Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.

Administered via subcutaneous injection every other day.

Approved for relapsing forms of MS and individuals with CIS.

May affect the immune system by decreasing damaging cells and increasing cells that suppress inflammation.

The BENEFIT TRIAL evaluated the impact of Betaseron on patients with CIS; over the three-year period, risk for confirmed progression of permanent disability was reduced by 40 percent, while patients were 41 percent less likely to progress to clinically definite MS.

BECOME study, using new MRI techniques, compared Betaseron versus Copaxone in RRMS; enhancing lesions were similar, while black hole data favored Betaseron.

BEYOND study in progress evaluates regular-dose versus double-dose Betaseron, as well as versus Copaxone.

Follow-up data after 17 years from Betaseron's pivotal placebo-controlled trial show continued effectiveness and safety.