Drug	Dosage	Side effects and monitoring	Cost for 1 month of treatment*
Interferon beta-1a (Avonex)	30 mcg IM once weekly	Influenza-like symptoms	$1,278
		Monitoring of CBC and liver function
Interferon beta-1a (Rebif)	22 to 44 mcg SC three times weekly	Influenza-like symptoms and injection-site reactions	1,517
		Monitoring of CBC and liver function
Interferon beta-1b (Betaseron)	0.25 mg SC every other day	Influenza-like symptoms and injection-site reactions	1,403
		Monitoring of CBC and liver function
Glatiramer (Copaxone)	20 mg SC once daily	Injection-site reactions and, rarely, a benign systemic reaction	1,261
		Requires no blood monitoring
Mitoxantrone (Novantrone)	5 to 12 mg per m2 IV every 3 months	Mild chemotherapy-related side effects, cumulative cardiotoxicity, small increased risk of leukemia	1,453