BURLINGTON, Mass., Nov. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources finds that total patient share of injectable disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) among recently treated multiple sclerosis (MS) patients declined over four quarters of data collection ending June 30, 2013, with a steeper drop observed in Q2 2013, coinciding with the launch of Biogen Idec's Tecfidera.
Quarterly
analysis shows that injectable DMTs, namely the interferon betas and
Teva's Copaxone, captured a combined 70 percent patient share among
recently treated patients in Q2 2013 compared with 80 percent one year
earlier. Meanwhile, during the drug's first three months on the market,
Tecfidera captured a sizable patient share in this population,
approaching the level of Novartis's first-to-market oral DMT Gilenya in
this same quarter. These data likely reflect both pent up patient demand
for Tecfidera and prescribers' positive opinions of the product's
clinical profile compared with other DMTs.
However, the Treatment Algorithms in Multiple Sclerosis report
also finds that platform injectables continued to capture a commanding
84 percent of first-line patient share among MS DMTs. Copaxone and
Biogen Idec's Avonex were most often prescribed among newly diagnosed MS
patients, together capturing over 60 percent of first-line patient
share in this population, likely owing to their established advantages
in tolerability and delivery, respectively. Thanks to physician comfort
and a positive long-term safety record, injectable DMTs maintained a
dominant first-line position despite the availability of newer oral
alternatives—Gilenya, Tecfidera and Genzyme's Aubagio—which combined to
capture only just 6 percent of first-line patient share, driven mostly
by Gilenya.
