The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Plegridy (peginterferon beta-1a), a pegylated beta interferon for use relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).
The pegylation process increases the size of the interferon molecule, prolonging the circulation time in the body and increasing the half-life, therefore requiring a less frequent dosing schedule than other forms of interferon. Plegridy is administered subcutaneously once every two weeks with the Plegridy Pen, a ready-to-use autoinjector, or a prefilled syringe.
The most common adverse reactions were injection site reaction, flu-like illness, fever, headache, muscle pain, chills, injection site pain, weakness, injection site itching and joint pain