OBJECTIVES:

Peginterferon beta-1a was approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in Europe in 2014. With over 3 years of post-authorisation experience there is now opportunity to understand the real-world impact of peginterferon beta-1a for patients. This analysis aims to compare the relapse rates and the proportion of patients experiencing a relapse-related hospitalisation in RRMS patients receiving peginterferon beta-1a, or other injectable disease modifying therapies (DMTs), including interferons beta-1a/1b and glatiramer acetate (ABCRE) therapies.

METHODS:

RRMS patients receiving peginterferon beta-1a or ABCRE therapies for at least 12 months were identified from the Adelphi MS Disease Specific Programme, a cross-sectional study of MS patients in five European countries (U.K, Spain, Italy, France and Germany) and the US between 2015 and 2018. Average treatment effects for peginterferon beta-1a compared to ABCRE therapies were estimated, following propensity score matching on age, gender, EDSS, and number of lines of therapy to create balanced treatment groups. The number of physician-reported relapses and the proportion of patients experiencing a relapse-related hospitalisation in the previous 12 months were compared.

RESULTS:

As of May, relapse and relapse-related hospitalisation data were available for 1864 (33 peginterferon beta-1a, 1831 ABCRE) and 1724 (28 peginterferon beta-1a, 1696 ABCRE) European patients, respectively. Peginterferon beta-1a patients experienced significantly fewer relapses compared to those on ABCRE therapies (0.12 vs 0.33, p=0.012). Patients receiving peginterferon beta-1a were significantly less likely to have experienced a relapse-related hospitalisation than those on ABCRE therapies (0.0% vs 14.1%, p=0.009).

CONCLUSIONS:

Treatment with peginterferon beta-1a was associated with lower relapse rates and likelihood of relapse-related hospitalisations compared to ABCRE therapies, suggesting greater real world clinical effectiveness of peginterferon beta-1a compared to other agents typically used as first-line options for the treatment of RRMS.