Autoinjectors for Administering Glatiramer Acetate in Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis in Europe: A Survey of Patient and Nurse Preferences.

PURPOSE

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disorder affecting almost 2.8 million people globally, approximately 80-85% of whom have the relapsing-remitting form of the disease (RRMS). There are several autoinjectors available for the administration of injectable disease-modifying therapies for the treatment of MS. The objective of the current study was to gain an understanding of factors related to patients' and nurses' autoinjector preferences, and to evaluate two autoinjectors for glatiramer acetate (MyJECT™ and CSYNC™) against those preferences.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with RRMS and nurses experienced in training patients with an autoinjector were recruited from 12 health centers in Germany. Surveys were administered to patients and nurses and their answers to 13 questions over five categories (participants' characteristics, important autoinjector attributes, autoinjector performance, satisfaction with the autoinjector devices and demographics) were scored, where appropriate, using a 5-point Likert scale.

RESULTS

A total of 15 patients and 15 nurses were included in the study. Overall, the top four most important attributes, for both nurses and patients, were ease of handling, ability to use independently, ease of gripping the autoinjector and ease of self-injection. MyJECT™ received a mean score of at least 4.5 (out of 5) on more attributes than CSYNC™ and satisfaction with both autoinjectors was high.

CONCLUSION

Nurses and patients with RRMS were highly satisfied with both the MyJECT™ and CSYNC™ autoinjectors, with scores suggesting that MyJECT™ performs better on the attributes they identified as most important. All patients currently using the MyJECT™ were likely or highly likely to recommend it to another patient with RRMS.