Daclizumab withdrawn from market over safety concerns
Last updated: 5th March 2018
The disease modifying therapy daclizumab (Zinbryta) has been withdrawn from the market worldwide. This comes after reports that a number of people taking the drug have developed inflammatory brain disorders.
The drug used to treat relapsing forms of MS has been linked to seven cases of serious inflammatory brain disorders in Germany, including encephalitis and meningoencephalitis, and one case in Spain.
Pharmaceutical companies, Abbvie and Biogen, took the decision to withdraw the drug following these safety concerns. The European Medicines Agency has begun an urgent review of daclizumab.
Anyone currently taking daclizumab should discuss their treatment options with their neurologist, but should not discontinue their medication until they have done so.