COPAXONE® (glatiramer acetate)

This information is intended for patients who have been prescribed COPAXONE®

COPAXONE® is a type of treatment known as a disease modifying therapy, or DMT, and is used to reduce the number of times you suffer attacks of Multiple Sclerosis (relapses).

Disease modifying therapies (DMTs) aren't a cure for MS, but they can reduce how many relapses someone has and how serious they are. They can also slow down the damage caused by relapsing multiple sclerosis that builds up over time.

COPAXONE® works in a different way to the other classes of DMTs which include beta-interferons, along with other more recently licenced drugs.

Glatiramer acetate is the non-branded name of COPAXONE®.

 

How does COPAXONE® work?

COPAXONE® is believed to work differently to any other MS therapy in the way in which it modifies the immune process in the body. In MS, inflammation in the brain and spinal cord results in damage to the nerves and causes the symptoms associated with MS.

COPAXONE® works by recruiting anti-inflammatory cells which help reduce the inflammation that is occurring. Over time, COPAXONE® assists in rebalancing the immune system towards and anti-inflammatory bias, helping to keep the inflammation around the nerves under control.

It is important to note that COPAXONE® does not affect the way that the rest of the immune system works. There is no evidence that COPAXONE® suppresses the immunity that we have to viruses or bacteria.

How to inject COPAXONE® using the autoinjector:

   

Please read your patient information leaflet carefully before you start using this medicine because it contains important information for you, including step by step instructions on how to administer your COPAXONE® injection. You should not inject yourself until you have been trained by your doctor or nurse. You should also contact them if you have any further questions.