Gilenya Better at Lowering Relapse Rate than Tecfidera or Aubagio, Study Suggests

Gilenya (fingolimod) is linked to significantly lower annualized relapse rates in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS)patients compared to Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) or Aubagio (teriflunomide), a study suggests.

All three therapies showed similar effects on disability outcomes.

The study, “Comparison of fingolimod, dimethyl fumarate and teriflunomide for multiple sclerosis” was published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.

Oral immunotherapies — including Novartis’ Gilenya, Biogen’s Tecfidera, and Sanofi Genzyme’s Aubagio — are currently standard therapies for RRMS treatment.

But while these therapies are highly effective at modulating MS activity, studies comparing their efficacy on relapse and disability are missing. This is an important point for MS patients, so that if a change in oral therapies is needed (due to lack of tolerance, for example), the decision on a more suitable therapy is based on scientific evidence.

To address this matter, a group of researchers used the MsBase, an international observational MS cohort study, to identify RRMS patients who had been treated with Gilenya, Tecfidera, or Aubagio for at least three months.

The team compared Tecfidera versus Aubagio, Gilenya versus Aubagio, and Gilenya versus Tecfidera, specifically for the therapy’s impact on relapse activity, six-month disability worsening or improvement, and persistence of treatment.

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