New Clinical Data Analysis of AMPYRA Shows Improvement of Patient-Reported Walking Ability across a Range of Walking Impairment

Acorda Therapeutics ACOR today announced an analysis of pooled clinical trial results showed patients who were responders to AMPYRA® (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg demonstrated clinically relevant improvements in walking ability as measured by patient self-report on the 12-Item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (MSWS-12), regardless of either their baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale score or baseline walking speed. The data were presented at the 2011 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Annual Meeting, held June 1-4 in Montreal, Canada. AMPYRA is an oral medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This was demonstrated by an increase in walking speed. "People with MS often experience a progressive decline in their walking ability that can begin early in their disease course. However, in many cases patients and their healthcare providers do not discuss walking impairment until it is so severe that it requires physical support from canes or walkers,” said Ron Cohen, M.D., Acorda's President and CEO. “These data show that people with MS, even those with less obvious walking impairment, can potentially experience meaningful clinical benefit from treatment with AMPYRA.” The poster presentation, entitled “Impact of Dalfampridine on MSWS-12 Score Change in MS Patients” (poster S70), examined improvements in walking ability as measured by the MSWS-12 when patients were stratified using two separate criteria: EDSS score and baseline walking speed as measured by the Timed 25-Foot Walk (T25FW). The MSWS-12 is a patient-reported questionnaire that assesses the impact of MS on various aspects of walking ability in everyday life. The presentation was based on a pooled analysis of data from one Phase 2 and two Phase 3 clinical trials of dalfampridine, which were the pivotal trials included in the New Drug Application that formed the basis of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug.