Patient's Death Raises Questions over Novartis' MS Drug

Since the approval, more than 28,000 patients have received the pill to date and no deaths have occurred until now.

The safety of Novartis' multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya is under investigation after a patient in the US died after taking the treatment for the first time.

The 59-year-old man began taking the medicine on 22 November 2011 and was monitored for six hours after his first dose, but died the next day.

Novartis said in a statement that the exact cause of death has not been established and the role of Gilenya "can neither be confirmed nor excluded at this time." Novartis has submitted details of the case to regulators and said that it "takes patient safety very seriously and we are currently gathering all available details on this case".