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Mary Carraux misses the drug she took for more than two months in an attempt to slow her multiple sclerosis.
“I felt like a million bucks on the drug; it was the best I ever felt,” said Carraux, 47. “My everyday symptoms were so much lighter.”
The Holmen, Wis., woman used Tysabri, which was withdrawn in February 2005 after only four months on the market when three people in clinical trials developed a rare disease, PML. Two died, including a person with MS.
“When I heard the drug was pulled,” Carraux said, “I knew it was going to be a bad day.”
In March, a Food and Drug Admin-istration advisory committee recommended Tysabri be approved for patients with relapsing MS — those who experience periodic flare-ups of symptoms. The FDA will consider the advisory panel’s recommendation in June.
Three years ago, Carraux, a Franciscan Skemp courier and phlebotomist, began participating in the annual MS Walk in La Crosse. That year, her team walked in heavy rain. From then on, her team name was Soggy Phlebotomists.....
