User:Mr. Ibrahem/Glatiramer acetate

Glatiramer acetate, sold under the brand name Copaxone among others, is a medication used to treat multiple sclerosis. Specifically it is used for relapsing forms of MS including clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease. It is given by injection under the skin.

Common side effects include pain at the site of injection, rash, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Other side effects may include flushing, anxiety, lipoatrophy, and liver problems. While there is no clear harm with use in pregnancy, such use has not been well studied. It is a mixture of different sized peptides that are composed of the four amino acids, namely glutamic acid, lysine, alanine, and tyrosine. It is believed to be similar to myelin basic protein (MBP) and inactivate antibodies directed against it.

Glatiramer acetate was approved for medical use in the United States in 1996. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. In the United Kingdom 4 weeks of medication costs the NHS about £515 as of 2021. In the United States this amount costs about 1,200 USD.