Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Neurologists in Canada Report Pulling Back from EMD Serono’s Mavenclad and Sanofi Genzyme’s Lemtrada, While Roche’s Ocrevus Stalls, According to Spherix Global Insights

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Use in treatment-naïve patients drives recent growth of Biogen’s Tecfidera and Genzyme’s Aubagio in Canada, as reported switch share has remained flat over the past year – reflecting the continued shift in using established oral agents earlier in the multiple sclerosis treatment algorithm

EXTON, Pa., May 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The COVID-19 pandemic has (at least temporarily) transformed neurology practices and multiple sclerosis (MS) patient management patterns across Canada, according to the most recent report included in Spherix’s RealTime Dynamix™: Multiple Sclerosis (Canada) service. The report, which collected the responses of 50 Canadian neurologists surveyed between April 6^th and May 2^nd, found that 90% of respondents indicate the novel coronavirus outbreak has had a high impact on their practice. While preference for induction versus escalation treatment was clearly on the rise prior to the pandemic, new data suggest a potentially transient reversion to more conservative disease-modifying therapy (DMT) treatment patterns.

Neurologists express hesitation to prescribe or re-dose patients with immunosuppressive DMTs, namely Roche’s Ocrevus, Sanofi Genzyme’s Lemtrada, and EMD Serono’s Mavenclad, due to increased risk of complications or death among MS patients infected with the novel coronavirus. One surveyed neurologist states “becoming more aggressive in [the] treatment of highly active MS” prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now resulted in “more caution with immune-suppressing therapies.” This mindset has resulted in a leveling off of reported shares for the immunosuppressant DMTs.

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