Autoinjection Device Appears Suitable for Administration of Interferon-Beta Therapy in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: Presented at ENS
MILAN, Italy –
June 26, 2009 –
A new electronic, multidose, autoinjection device improves subcutaneous delivery of interferon beta (IFNB)-1a in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study presented here at the 19th Meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS2009).
Virginia Devonshire, MD, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, presented the results of a multicenter, single-arm, open-label, phase 3b study on June 24.
"Patients have problems with their adherence and initiation of therapies because these are injectable therapies, so we were looking at whether patients would find this device more suitable for injection," said Dr. Devonshire.
She also indicated that the device enables adjustable injection depth and speed, has a hidden needle, provides visual and audio cues during the injection process, and records an accurate dosing history.
The study evaluated the suitability of the device for subcutaneous (SC) administration of the 3-times-weekly (TIW) formulation of IFNB-1a 44 mcg, as well as the incidence of injection-site reactions (ISRs), patient satisfaction with use, and impressions of the characteristics of the device.
Enrolled patients (n = 106) had received IFNB-1a 44 mcg SC TIW consistently for >=6 weeks before screening.
Patients who received regular injection of any other medication during the screening and study periods were excluded, as were patients with any physical/visual impairment that would preclude proper use of the device.
At baseline, patients were trained in the use of the new device and received IFNB-1a 44 mcg SC TIW for 12 weeks. Assessments were performed at baseline and weeks 2, 4, 8, and 12.
A total of 101 patients completed the study.
At week 12, 71.6% of patients indicated that this new device was suitable or very suitable. Most patients gave the same ratings for the various individual functions of the device (80.8%-95.2%), with most (95.2%) also rating these as easy or very easy to use.
In addition, 58.7% of the patients rated the device more or much more convenient than their previous device, and 60.2% requested to continue using it.
"We think that this is a good advance, and there will certainly be a group of patients who will prefer to have this kind of autoinjector," said Dr. Devonshire.
"The main hurdle with new patients is often getting them onto a therapy, so this may offer something for that patient who is fairly needle phobic or is worried about going onto a therapy by injection," he concluded
Funding for this study was provided by Merck Serono.
By Chris Berrie
MILAN, Italy -- June 26, 2009 --