Texas man who obtained Tysabri dies of cancer

A prominent Democratic fundraiser, who recently made headlines by obtaining Biogen Idec Inc.'s drug Tysabri in defiance of the company's wishes, has died of cancer in Texas.

A spokeswoman for Fred Baron's law firm says the 61-year-old died Thursday afternoon. Baron obtained Tysabri earlier this month through his doctors in hopes of treating his multiple myeloma when other treatments failed.

But while Biogen Idec, based in Cambridge, has started clinical trials to test whether Tysabri is effective as a treatment for multiple myeloma, it has not been formally approved for the disease.

Biogen Idec rejected Baron's request for the drug, saying it wanted to avoid problems that could lead to further restrictions for other patients taking the therapy. A small number of patients taking Tysabri have contracted a potentially deadly brain disease.

Tysabri has so far been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat severe forms of multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.
(AP)