Biogen Idec and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum Announce First Patient Dosed in Global Registrational Trial of Long-Acting Hemophilia B Therapy.

(From Hugin)

Cambridge, Mass. and Stockholm, Sweden - January 25, 2010 - Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (STO: BVT) today announced that the first patient was dosed in a registrational, open-label, multicenter trial designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of the companies' long-acting, recombinant Factor IX Fc fusion protein (rFIXFc) in hemophilia B patients. The trial, called the B-LONG study, will determine the efficacy of rFIXFc in the prevention and treatment of bleeding in approximately 75 previously-treated patients with severe hemophilia B.

"Hemophilia B requires frequent injections, often two to three times a week, causing a major burden on individuals with the disorder," said Amy Shapiro, M.D., Principal Investigator of the B-LONG trial and Medical Director of the Indiana Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center. "In a Phase I/IIa study, rFIXFc showed the potential to prolong protection from bleeding in severe, …