Study Showed Patients Using COPAXONE® Had Significantly Lower Risk of Relapse and Lower Medical Costs Compared to Patients Using Rebif® in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS)
Continuous Use Patients Treated With COPAXONE® Experienced Pronounced Results
10th European International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and
Outcomes Research meeting
KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)—
A retrospective study comparing outcomes of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients treated either with COPAXONE® (glatiramer acetate injection) or high-dose interferon beta-1a (Rebif®)demonstrated that patients continuously treated with COPAXONE® had a significantly lower risk of relapse (p=0.0049) and experienced significantly lower two-year total medical costs (p<0.0001) than those continuously treated with interferon beta-1a (Rebif®).
The results of the study, “A Comparison of Outcomes Among Multiple Sclerosis Patients Treated with Glatiramer Acetate Injection or High-Dose Interferon Beta-1a,” were presented on October 22, 2007, at the 10th European International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (E-ISPOR) meeting, in Dublin, Ireland. The study analyzed medical claims of patients (n=845) from United Healthcare to examine the association between use of a drug and two-year direct medical costs and risk of relapse.
“Medical costs are an increasingly important factor in treating a chronic disease such as multiple sclerosis,” said MerriKay Oleen-Burkey, PhD, director of Outcomes Research at Teva Neuroscience and study investigator. “Findings of this study not only indicated that COPAXONE® provided patients with a significant treatment benefit by lowering risk of relapse, but lowered the financial burden associated with the disease, in terms of medical costs,” Oleen-Burkey added.
About the Study
In the retrospective database analyses of United Healthcare medical claims for the time period from September, 2001 to June, 2006, multivariate regressions were used to examine:
the association between the use of COPAXONE® and interferon beta-1a (Rebif®) and
two-year direct medical costs and relapses.
The study analyzed both intent-to-treat (ITT) (n=845) and continuous use (CU) (n=410) patient cohorts. The ITT cohort included patients with an RRMS diagnosis who initiated therapy on either COPAXONE® or interferon beta-1a (Rebif®), and had continuous insurance overage from 6 months prior to drug initiation through 24 months after drug initiation.
The CU cohort consisted of patients who used the medication of interest within 28 days of the end of the two-year period.
Patients who initiated treatment with COPAXONE® (glatiramer acetate injection) in the ITT cohort experienced a significantly lower risk of relapse (odds ratio = 0.543, p=0.0305) and lower two-year direct medical costs ($7,244, p=0.0002)
compared to those who began treatment with interferon beta-1a (Rebif®).
Patients who were treated with COPAXONE® in the CU cohort experienced a significantly lower risk of relapse (odds ratio=0.213, p=0.0049) and significantly lower two-year total medical costs ($12,098, p<0.0001).
About COPAXONE®
Current data suggest COPAXONE® (glatiramer acetate injection) is a selective MHC class II modulator. COPAXONE® is indicated for the reduction of the frequency of relapses in RRMS. The most common side effects of COPAXONE® are redness, pain, swelling, itching, a lump or an indentation at the site of injection, weakness, infection, pain, nausea, joint pain, anxiety, and muscle stiffness.
COPAXONE® is now approved in 48 countries worldwide, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Israel, and all European countries. In Europe, COPAXONE® is marketed by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and sanofi-aventis. In North America, COPAXONE® is marketed by Teva Neuroscience, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NASDAQ:TEVA). COPAXONE® is a registered trademark of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., headquartered in Israel, is among the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world and is the leading generic pharmaceutical company. The company develops, manufactures and markets generic and innovative human pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as animal health pharmaceutical products. Close to 90 percent of Teva’s sales are in North America and Europe. Teva’s innovative R&D focuses on developing novel drugs for diseases of the central nervous system.