#CMSC16 – Interview with Bayer’s VP and General Manager on Betaconnect/Betaseron and Customized Therapy

Global pharma Bayer Healthcare aims to improve human health by diagnosing, preventing, and treating a variety of diseases. The company currently provides products for general medicine, hematology, neurology, oncology, and women’s healthcare.

In 1993, Bayer’s Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) became the first disease-modifying drug to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) after the first MS event. It works by reducing the ability of cells of the immune system to enter the central nervous system, reducing inflammation and disease severity.

In clinical trials, Betaseron was shown to reduce relapses and the formation of new lesions in the central nervous system. In 2004, the FDA approved Betaseron for more progressive patients still experiencing relapses.

Recently, the first and only electronic autoinjector for Betaseron administration in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), called Betaconnect, was also granted FDA approval, allowing for a more customized injection and therapy delivery.

Bayer was one of the pharmaceutical companies at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) June 1-4 in National Harbor, Maryland.

In an interview with Multiple Sclerosis News Today at CMSC 2016, Bayer’s vice president and general manager for MS Business, Klaus Marten, discussed the therapeutic advantages of both Betaseron and Betaconnect.

“Betaseron is a very effective and safe product, and now Betaconnect makes the injection of this important product for MS patients even easier,” Marten said. He said Betaconnect is an electronic autoinjector that doesn’t make any noise, and mentioned its customizable characteristics and its ergonomics.

With the Betaconnect device, speed and depth of injection can be customized, which allows patients to inject Betaseron with precision by simply pressing a button, letting them know when the injection is complete by a visual and audio end-of-dose indication. Betaconnect also has an optional reminder function that tells patients when it’s time for their next injection.

Multiple Sclerosis News Today is providing expanded coverage of CMSC 2016 meeting. Our news team will continue to publish feature articles on the presentations, exclusive video interviews from the convention floor with leading MS researchers and professionals, live social media coverage, and live streaming.