A patient satisfaction evaluation of three autoinjector devices for delivering multiple sclerosis treatments found that Bayer’s electronic autoinjector Betaconnect was the choice of 57 percent of the 85 people who took part in the study.
Higher satisfaction with an autoinjector can lead to better adherence, or patients sticking with treatment, according to the study’s authors. Adherence means remaining on a medication and following the prescribed procedure for taking it.
Findings from the German survey, titled “Autoinjector preference among patients with multiple sclerosis: results from a national survey,” were published in the journal Patient Preference and Adherence. An independent market research company organized the survey and conducted face-to-face interviews in five German cities.
Autoinjectors are devices that allow patients to inject themselves with their own medication. People with MS use them to deliver beta interferon-based therapies.
The devices often provide features to improve patient comfort and adherence. These include reminder functions, because people often forget to take a self-administered drug.
Other features include the ability to adjust injection speed and depth; signaling at the beginning and end of the injection process; the ability to correct the positioning of the device on the skin; and a display to visualize injection progress.
The 85 participants in the study were using one of three autoinjectors. Two were electronic autoinjectors, Bayer’s Betaconnect and EMD Serono’s Rebismart, and one was mechanical: Novartis’ autoinjector ExtaviPro.
The participants were first shown an instruction video for using their device. Then they were asked 22 questions about it. The interviewers then asked them what an ideal autoinjector would be like.