A Swedish Nationwide study of the long-term effectiveness and safety of teriflunomid based on data from the Swedish "Immunomodulation and Multiple Sclerosis Epidemiology" Study (IMSE 4)

• Background: Teriflunomid (TFM) is a newly approved oral therapy for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), which has been included in the Swedish post-market surveillance study “Immunomodulation and Multiple Sclerosis Epidemiology” (IMSE) in order to track the long-term safety and effectiveness in a real-world setting.Objectives: To track the long-term safety and effectiveness of TFM in a real-world setting.Methods: A large majority of MS patients are registered into the nationwide Swedish Neuro Registry (NeuroReg). 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: A total of 559 TFM-treated patients had been included in the IMSE 4 study from March 2014 to March 2019. 71 % were female and the mean age at treatment start was 46 years. The mean treatment duration was 23 months and 89 % of the patients had RRMS (9 % missing data on MS phenotype). Most patients switched from interferon/glatiramer acetate (36 %) and 16 % of the patients were treatment naïve before starting TFM. The overall one-year drug survival rate was 74 % and the overall two-year drug survival rate was 58 %. 232 (42 %) patients had terminated their treatment at some point, of which 46 % started rituximab treatment and 12 % had no new treatment registered. The most common reasons for discontinuation were AEs (41 %) and lack of effect (39 %). 229 patients had been continuously treated with TFM for ⩾24 months and significant changes in mean baseline values compared to values at 24 months were noted for EDSS (1.9 ± 1.5 to 2.1 ± 1.6, n=66) and SDMT (50.3 ± 10.5 to 52.3 ± 13.0, n=88). A total of 34 AEs were reported to the Swedish Medical Products Agency of which 9 events were classified as serious, none fatal.Conclusions: NeuroReg proves to function well as a post-marketing drug surveillance platform, providing data regarding drug effectiveness and AEs. Patients starting TMF are older at treat-ment start than most other DMTs, which may explain the lack of improvement in EDSS scores. Still, a relatively high proportion switched due to lack of effect. A longer follow-up period is needed to assess the real-world effectiveness and safety of TMF.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Neurologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Neurology (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

art (subject category)