Multiple sclerosis relapse rates and healthcare costs of two versions of glatiramer acetate

Abstract

Objective: To compare relapse rates and healthcare costs in MS patients treated with Glatopa 20 mg (generic glatiramer acetate) versus Copaxone 20 mg in a US managed care population.

Methods: A retrospective claims study was conducted using the HealthCore Integrated Research Database. Patients with ≥1 Glatopa or Copaxone claim between 01 April 2015 (Glatopa) or 01 January 2013 (Copaxone) and 30 April 2018 were included. Patients with prior Copaxone 40 mg use or <1 year continuous health plan enrollment were excluded. Patients who switched from Glatopa to Copaxone were censored. Glatopa users were matched to Copaxone users, and outcomes measured at 6–12 months follow-up.

Results: A total of 357 Glatopa and 2291 Copaxone patients qualified for inclusion; 158 per cohort were retained after matching. Baseline characteristics were well-balanced (mean age 49.9 years, 75% female, mean 3.8 Copaxone fills). At baseline, 8% of patients had ≥1 relapse with mean annualized relapse rates (ARR) of 0.18; at follow-up, the relapse rates were 8% versus 15% (Glatopa versus Copaxone; p = .05), and ARRs were 0.12 versus 0.30 (p = .05). 45% of Glatopa patients switched (back) to Copaxone 20/40 mg and were censored at that point. Mean (SD) all-cause medical and pharmacy costs were $51,507 ($28,494) versus $55,085 ($37,061; p = .50). Mean MS-related costs were $45,379 ($24,732) versus $47,949 ($32,615; p = .67), of which mean disease modifying therapy costs were $42,926 ($23,196) versus $44,932 ($28,554; p = .59). Results were similar in sensitivity analyses.

Conclusions: In this real-world study, MS patients treated with Glatopa experienced similar health outcomes and costs compared to those treated with Copaxone, with a trend towards lower relapse rates (borderline statistically significant) and cost savings (not statistically significant).

Keywords:

• Multiple sclerosis
• glatiramer acetate
• MS relapse rates
• healthcare costs
• claims analysis

Notes

Transparency

Declaration of funding

Funding for this study was provided by Sandoz, Inc., Princeton, NJ.

Declaration of financial/other relationships

BG: no relationship with Sandoz, Inc.; grant support from Chugai, Medimmune, Medday, Genentech, NMSS, NIH, PCORI, Transverse Myelitis Association, and Guthy Jackson Charitable Foundation; consulting fees from Alexion, Novartis, EMD Serono, and Celgene; serves on the board of the Transverse Myelitis Association. SH: employee of Sandoz, Inc. MG: employee of HealthCore, Inc., an independent research organization that received funding from Sandoz, Inc. for the conduct of this study. SB: was an employee of Sandoz, Inc. at the time the study was conducted; currently employee of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. XZ: was an employee of HealthCore at the time the study was conducted; currently an employee of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. DK: has served as a consultant for AbbVie, Actelion, Bayer, Biogen, Celgene, EMD Serono, Genentech/Roche, Mylan, Novartis, Osmotica, Sandoz, and Sanofi-Genzyme; has also participated in multicenter clinical research trials with Actelion. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Author contributions

BG: Data interpretation, manuscript writing and review, approval of final draft. SH: Study design, data interpretation, manuscript writing and review, approval of final draft. MG: Study design, data collection, data analysis and interpretation, manuscript writing and review, approval of final draft. SB: Study design, data interpretation, manuscript writing and review, approval of final draft. XZ: Study design, data collection, data analysis and interpretation, manuscript writing and review, approval of final draft. DK: Data interpretation, manuscript writing and review, approval of final draft.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Cheryl Jones, an employee of HealthCore, Inc. at the time of the study, for writing and editorial support on this manuscript.

Previous presentations

Partial findings from this study were presented at the 2019 meetings of the AAN, ACTRIMS, AMCP, CMSC, and ISPOR professional organizations.

Data availability statement

All data generated relevant to this study are presented in the text and supplementary material.

Notes

i Copaxone is a registered trademark of Teva Pharmaceuticals, Parsippany, NJ, USA.

ii Glatopa is a registered trademark of Sandoz Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA.

iii HIRD is a registered trademark of HealthCore Inc., Wilmington, DE, USA.

iv Glatopaject is a registered trademark of Sandoz Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA.