Biogen Idec seeks approval for hemophilia B drug

By Robert Weisman, Globe Staff

Biogen Idec Inc. has applied to the Food and Drug Administration for approval to market a new treatment hemophilia B, the Weston biotechnology company said Friday.

Hemophilia B is a rare inherited disease that keeps patients’ blood from clotting and can cause bleeding, joint damage and life-threatening hemorrhages. Biogen Idec said it submitted its biologics license application to the FDA recently and expects a decision some time this year. It is the first product in a class of clotting therapies the company is developing.

Biogen Idec said it is on track to submit a similar application for a drug to treat another form of the disease, hemophilia A, in the first quarter of this year.

The company, a global leader in multiple sclerosis drugs, Thursday said it was ending development of an experimental drug for Lou Gehrig’s disease after the drug proved ineffective in a late-phase clinical trial.

Robert Weisman can be reached at weisman@globe.com.