MS Patients on Oral Therapies Are More Optimistic About Their Disease, According to Kantar Health Survey

Oral disease-modifying drugs are recent additions to the multiple sclerosis market.

New York, NY (PRWEB) April 03, 2013

More than 950 MS patients were asked to predict whether they expected their disease to improve, worsen or be the same in a year. Among patients taking oral DMDs, 34 percent expect their disease to be better and 49 percent expect their disease to worsen, compared with 16 percent of patients taking non-oral DMDs expecting their disease to improve and 62 percent expecting it to worsen.

Additionally, patients who take oral DMDs are more satisfied with their lives since starting their current treatment. Thirty-six percent of MS patients on oral DMDs are more satisfied with their lives since starting their current treatment, compared with 27 percent of patients taking non-oral DMD treatments.

About three in four of the DMD patients who plan to ask their physician to switch them to a specific brand say they will request an oral DMD. Still, many physicians seem hesitant to prescribe an oral DMD.

Oral treatments for MS have been on the market for about two years, and were starting to see patients who have had a relapse in the past two years switching to the oral DMDs, said Rose Lorenzo, director of research at Kantar Health. While patients who have switched to oral DMDs are significantly more satisfied with their treatment, doctors are still wary about the lack of safety data and potential side effects. Both patients and physicians may be more open to oral treatments as additional data becomes available.

About Kantar Health Syndicated Studies

The studys results were drawn from the Multiple Sclerosis Syndicated Patient Study, a nationally representative, self-administered survey. Topics covered include the health status, attitudes, behaviors and patient-reported outcomes among adults diagnosed with MS. Kantar Health conducts syndicated studies in across several therapeutic areas in the U.S.

About Kantar Health

Kantar Health is a leading global healthcare advisory firm and trusted advisor to the worlds largest pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device and diagnostic companies. It combines evidence-based research capabilities with deep scientific, therapeutic and clinical knowledge, commercial development know-how, and marketing expertise to help clients launch products and differentiate their brands in the marketplace.

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MS Patients on Oral Therapies Are More Optimistic About Their Disease, According to Kantar Health Survey