Has Rebif been studied against any other relapsing MS drug?
A. Rebif is the only relapsing MS treatment proven to work better than another in a class I clinical trial. The EVIDENCE‡ study, a head-to-head trial, compared Rebif with Avonex for an average of 64 weeks. Rebif 44 mcg was given to 339 people 3 times per week just under the skin, at least 48 hours apart. Avonex 30 mcg was given to 338 people once per week into the muscle. Over 64 weeks, Rebif was proven to work better compared with Avonex at: • Reducing MRI lesion activity. • Preventing relapses. Of the 605 people who completed the head-to-head phase of the EVIDENCE study, 73% of people taking Avonex and 91% of people taking Rebif chose to take Rebif 44 mcg in the extension phase of the study (n = 495), which lasted an average of 8 months. Compared with their last 6 months on Avonex, relapse rates and the number of new T2 brain lesions were reduced for people switching from Avonex to Rebif 44 mcg. People who continued on Rebif 44 mcg also experienced continued reductions in relapse rat
