To Örebro University

Background: Natalizumab (NTZ) is a highly effective disease modulatory treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Post-marketing surveillance is important for evaluation of long-term safety and effectiveness in a real-world setting. The “Immunomodulation and Multiple Sclerosis Epidemiology Study” (IMSE 1) was initiated upon NTZ launch in Sweden (August 2006).

Objective: To follow-up the long-term effectiveness and safety of NTZ in a real-world setting.

Methods: IMSE 1 includes patients starting NTZ treatment. Data is collected from the nationwide Swedish Neuroregistry. Adverse events (AEs), JC-virus status (JCV) and clinical effectiveness measures Extended Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Multiple Sclerosis Severity Scale (MSSS), Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29) and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) are registered prospectively.

Results: 3476 patients (75% female; 81% RRMS) were included from August 2006 until April 2021. Mean age at treatment start was 36 years and mean treatment duration was 51.3 months. 1190 patients were currently treated with NTZ at cut-off and 13% of these were JCV positive (JCV+) with a mean JCV index at 1.07 ± 0.97. 2470 patients (71%) discontinued their NTZ treatment at some time point where the main reason was JCV+ (40%). Most of these patients switched to rituximab (39%). The number of relapses per 1,000 patient years were reduced from 380 before treatment start to 73 during treatment (25% missing data). 61% were relapse-free and 12% had only one relapse during the entire treatment period. All clinical measures showed improvement in mean between baseline and 132 months. Improvements on MSSS, MSIS-29 and SDMT were statistically significant. 117 Serious AEs had been reported to the Swedish Medical Product Agency and included nine cases (2 fatal) of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Eight of these nine cases had been reported between year 2008 and 2012, and one in 2018. 17 patients died within 6 months of last NTZ infusion. The most common category for non-serious AEs was infections and infestations (21%). For serious AEs neoplasms benign, malignant and unspecified were the most common (16%).

Conclusions: NTZ is generally well tolerated with sustained effectiveness regarding clinical cognitive, physical and psychological measures.