A Swedish nationwide pharmaco-epidemiological study of the long-term safety and effectiveness of teriflunomid (IMSE 4)

• Published in: Multiple sclerosis 2018, Vol.24 (Suppl. 2), p.922
• Main Authors: Demirbüker, S. Safer, Kågström, S., Fält, A., Hillert, J., Nilsson, P., Dahle, C., Svenningsson, A., Lycke, J., Landtblom, A. -M, Burman, J., Sundström, P., Martin, C., Gunnarsson, Martin, Piehl, F., Olsson, T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Medicin och hälsovetenskap
• ISSN: 1477-0970; 1352-4585

Background : Teriflunomid (TFM) is an oral therapy for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), which has been included in the Swedish post-market surveillance study “Immunomodulation and Multiple Sclerosis Epidemiology 4” (IMSE 4) in order to surveille and determine the long-term safety and effectiveness in a real-world setting. Objectives : To follow-up the long-term safety and effectiveness of TFM in a real-world setting. Methods : MS patients are registered into the nationwide Swedish Neuro Registry (NeuroReg) in Sweden. The IMSE 4 study obtains descriptive data of adverse events (AEs), Extended Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Multiple Sclerosis Severity Scale (MSSS), Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29), European Quality of Life - Five Dimensions Test (EQ-5D) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) from NeuroReg. Drug survival was measured using the Kaplan-Meier curve. Results : 481 TFM-treated patients have been included in the IMSE 4 study between March 2014 and April 2018. 70 % were female and the mean age at treatment start was 45.8 years. The mean treatment duration was 20.5 months. 89 % of the patients had RRMS with 3 % missing data on MS phenotype. Most patients switched from interferon and glatimer acetat (37 %) and 14 % of the patients were treatment naïve before starting TFM. The overall one year drug survival rate was 81 % and the overall two year drug survival rate was 41 %. 168 (35 %) patients terminated their treatment at some point, of which 33 % started rituximab treatment and 22 % have no new treatment registered. The most common reasons for discontinuation were AEs (49 %) and lack of effect (40 %). 318 patients have been continuously treated with TFM for ≥12 months and mean baseline values compared to val-ues at 12 months have been noted for EDSS (2.0 ± 1.5 to 2.2 ± 1.5, n=141); MSSS (2.6 ± 2.2 to 2.9 ± 2.3, n=126); SDMT (50.8 ± 10.5 to 50.8 ± 10.7, n=165); MSIS-29 Physiological subscale (20.2 ± 19.3 to 19.7 ± 20.0, n=181); MSIS-29 Psychological subscale (28.1 ± 22.2 to 23.7 ± 21.7, n=181); EQ-5D (0.74 ± 0.24 to 0.73 ± 0.26, n=154); and VAS (70.0 ± 20.8 to 70.8 ± 19.6, n=150). Conclusions : NeuroReg proves to function well as a post-marketing drug surveillance platform, providing data regarding drug effectiveness and AEs. However, a longer follow-up period is needed to assess the real-world effectiveness and safety of TMF.