WESTON, Mass. & PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Knopp Biosciences today announced enrollment of the first patient in EMPOWER, a multi-national Phase III study evaluating the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of dexpramipexole in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and motor neuron disease (MND), is a rapidly progressive and degenerative disease of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. It causes muscle atrophy and spasticity, resulting in weakness, progressive paralysis and, ultimately, death usually by respiratory failure.
