Study shows Multiple Sclerosis patients taking Gilenya (Novartis) show high levels of satisfaction with the drug

People with relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) reported greater treatment satisfaction after starting the oral treatment Gilenya (fingolimod), from Novartis, vs. switching to, or staying on, injectable interferon beta or glatiramer acetate, according to new study data. The US Phase IV randomized, multi-center, open-label study, called EPOC evaluated treatment satisfaction among more than 1,000 patients. At six months, adjusted mean treatment global satisfaction subscale scores (overall level of satisfaction with a medication) were 80.4 for Gilenya vs. 61.1 for the injectable disease modifying therapies (DMTs), an increase from baseline by 20.4 vs. 2.9, respectively. The mean difference between the two scores was a statistically significant 17.5 (p<0.001).>

A separate analysis of EPOC indicated that the overall incidence of infection was similar among patients taking Gilenya and patients taking standard injectable DMTs, consistent with results from previous studies, and there was no observed relationship between lymphocyte counts and infection rates. Data were presented at the Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.