UK MS patients have less access to DMTs than other countries, study finds

The UK’s multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are less likely to be on disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) compared with people with MS in the rest of Europe, a new study has found.

The research was funded by Novartis, a pharmaceutical company which makes a range of DMTs such as Kesimpta (ofatumumab), Extavia (interferon beta-1b), Gilenya (fingolimod) and Mayzent (siponimod).

Most DMTs are approved to treat relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) which is the most common type. People with RRMS can go on to develop secondary progressive MS (SPMS). People with progressive forms of MS tend not to be prescribed DMTs as often as they are not as effective at controlling this type.

For the study, researchers looked at data collected from 2017 to 2019, from a total of 64,235 people with either RRMS or SPMS, from databases in Germany, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the UK.

In the total population, around three quarters of people with RRMS were taking a DMT, and around one in three people with SPMS were. For both types of disease, Sweden had the highest DMT rate of all the countries, and the UK had the lowest.

Among the population of patients who had been prescribed a DMT, those with SPMS were more likely to have given up the treatment than patients with RRMS. The rate of people stopping treatment with SPMS was highest in the UK, but similar in all countries for those with RRMS who stopped their treatment.

The researchers said that the findings may be partly explained by the fact that there are regular audits in the UK to check people are getting treatment within approved guidelines for the NHS to continue to pay for the treatment.

“The clinical label is the primary factor enabling DMTs to be used, whereas the specific health systems’ approach to verifying compliance with the label can be very effective in limiting prescribing,” the researchers wrote.

Statistical analyses also showed that in all the countries, female RRMS patients were less likely to be on a DMT compared than male patients. Among SPMS patients, the odds of being on a DMT were lower among those with more disability — and among patients undergoing regular medical monitoring.

The MS Society commented in a press release that it’s known that early DMT treatment can improve the long-term health and wellbeing of MS patients, and that this study shows that some people in this country are not getting the same opportunities as people in other countries. It called on the Government to give higher priority to, and improve funding for, neurology services.