Survey: Patients, Nurses Prefer Sensoready Autoinjector Pen

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their nurses prefer the Sensoready autoinjector pen for subcutaneous self-administration of Kesimpta (ofatumumab) over other methods for injecting treatments, according to a survey.

The survey was conducted by Novartis, which markets Kesimpta. Full findings from the survey will be presented at the 2021 Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis Forum (ACTRIMS), taking place virtually Feb. 25–27.

“For people living with a chronic disease such as MS, access to highly effective treatments and maintaining flexibility in their lives is paramount,” Estelle Vester-Blokland, MD, global head neuroscience medical affairs, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, said in a press release.

“At Novartis, we are committed to reimagining medicine and solutions that enable patients to maintain that flexibility in their daily lives by having a safe, high efficacy treatment that is easy to use independently from the comfort of their own home,” added Vester-Blokland.

Kesimpta is an MS therapy that is believed to work by depleting B-cells, a type of immune cell involved in the inflammation that damages the nervous system in MS. Clinical trial data have demonstrated that the therapy can reduce relapse rates and brain damage.

The therapy is administered by subcutaneous (under-the-skin) injection, which can be done using the Sensoready pen. In the survey, respondents were asked a variety of questions comparing Sensoready to other devices used to inject MS therapies — namely Rebif, Avonex, Copaxone, and Plegridy.

The survey was completed by 80 people with relapsing MS who had been receiving an injectable disease-modifying treatment for MS for at least two months. Also surveyed were 50 MS nurses who had at least three years of experience in training patients with multiple autoinjector devices for MS. The survey was conducted across the U.S., Germany, France, and Italy.

Overall, most of the survey respondents prefer Kesimpta and the Sensoready pen over other autoinjectors for MS treatment (84% vs 16%).

Compared to other injection systems, the Sensoready autoinjector pen was ranked highest for “patient able to use independently,” “easy to perform self-injection with the pen,” and “ease of preparation and set-up” by both patients and nurses.

“As an MS nurse, it’s important for me to know that the people I work with who have MS are going to be successful in administering their treatment themselves,” said Amy Perrin Ross, Neuroscience Program Coordinator at Loyola University Medical Center. “The Sensoready autoinjector pen is easy to set up and use, so people living with MS can feel confident that they will be able to administer the treatment themselves independently and comfortably.”

Kesimpta was approved in the U.S. last year to treat relapsing forms of MS. In Europe, an application seeking approval of Kesimpta is under review, with a final decision expected in the next two months.