Clinical and radiological outcomes of directed treatment transitions from Gilenya® to generic fingolimod.

BACKGROUND

Gilenya® (fingolimod), a sphingosine-1-receptor agonist, is an effective treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). However, increased relapse activity has been observed after transitioning to generic fingolimod despite prior prolonged disease stability.

OBJECTIVE

To quantify the clinical and radiological impact of transitioning from Gilenya® to generic fingolimod in people with MS (PwMS).

METHODS

Retrospective data were evaluated from a single tertiary MS care center. Time to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) activity and clinical relapse was assessed during Gilenya® and generic fingolimod treatment. Differences in absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) and side effects were also measured by treatment group.

RESULTS

The cohort included 88 PwMS (71 female; 76 White, mean age when starting Gilenya® was 39.6 years (standard deviation (SD) = 10.6 years), and mean age when starting generic fingolimod was 46.9 years (SD = 11.2 years)). A shorter time to MRI activity (p = 0.0026) and time to relapse (p = 0.0027) was observed during generic fingolimod treatment. The ALC increased by 8.81% after generic fingolimod treatment, relative to Gilenya® (95% CI = (2.00%, 16.08%), p = 0.01), with an intersubject variability of 1.97%. A 2.45-fold increase in side effects was observed with generic fingolimod relative to Gilenya® (95% CI = (1.38, 4.36), p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Measures of disease stability appear less optimal with generic fingolimod based on serological, clinical, and radiological measures.