(6 March 2005)A second patient taking a recently suspended multiple sclerosis-fighting drug, Tysabri, has contracted a rare disease of the central nervous system, the Irish and American companies who developed the highly touted medication confirmed Friday.

Elan Corp. of Ireland and Biogen Idec Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, had announced Monday that they were withdrawing Tysabri because one patient had died of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a usually fatal disease, while a second patient was suspected of developing PML.

The two companies said Friday that a second patient’s suspected case of the disease had been confirmed, but he was still alive.

Tysabri had been approved in November by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration following promising clinical trials that demonstrated the drug’s ability to prevent relapses in many MS sufferers.

AP