Novartis data show multiple sclerosis patients and nurses prefer Kesimpta® (ofatumumab) Sensoready® autoinjector pen

Novartis data show multiple sclerosis patients and nurses prefer Kesimpta® (ofatumumab) Sensoready® autoinjector pen

• Multicenter survey results show MS patients and nurses prefer the Sensoready autoinjector pen for subcutaneous self-administration of Kesimpta over other autoinjectors for their current treatment (84% vs 16%)¹ 
• Sensoready autoinjector pen ranked highest for “easy to perform self-injection with the pen,” “patient able to use independently” and “ease of preparation and set-up” by both patients and nurses¹ 
• Kesimpta is a targeted B-cell therapy that delivers superior efficacy and post hoc analysis showed that nearly nine out of 10 patients treated with Kesimpta achieved no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) in their second year of treatment² 
• Kesimpta received positive CHMP opinion last month based on two phase III trials where Kesimpta showed a reduction of annual relapses by over 50% with more than 30% relative risk reduction of 3 months confirmed disability progression (CDP) compared with teriflunomide, a first-line treatment in MS³

Basel, February 16, 2021 — Novartis announced today new multicenter survey results showing that people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) and nurses prefer the Sensoready^® autoinjector pen for self-administration of Kesimpta^® (ofatumumab) over other autoinjectors used for other disease-modifying therapies in MS¹. These data, which will be presented at the sixth annual Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis Forum (ACTRIMS) taking place on February 25-27, 2021, continue to show that Kesimpta has the potential to become a first-choice treatment option, as ease of administration plays an important role in patient satisfaction and treatment adherence.

“As an MS nurse, it’s important for me to know that the people I work with who have MS are going to be successful in administering their treatment themselves,” said Amy Perrin Ross. “The Sensoready autoinjector pen is easy to set up and use, so people living with MS can feel confident that they will be able to administer the treatment themselves independently and comfortably.”

“For people living with a chronic disease such as MS, access to highly effective treatments and maintaining flexibility in their lives is paramount,” said Estelle Vester-Blokland, Global Head Neuroscience Medical Affairs, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. “At Novartis, we are committed to reimagining medicine and solutions that enable patients to maintain that flexibility in their daily lives by having a safe, high efficacy treatment that is easy to use independently from the comfort of their own home.”

About the study¹
The multicenter survey was conducted with 80 MS patients and 50 MS nurses across the US, Germany, France and Italy. The survey included patients with RMS who received a disease-modifying treatment through a subcutaneous/intramuscular injection via an autoinjector for ≥2 months and MS nurses who had ≥3 years of practice with experience in training patients on ≥2-6 MS autoinjector devices. Nurses and patients were asked a set of qualitative open-ended and quantitative closed-ended questions, rating the importance of predefined attributes for the Sensoready autoinjector pen versus other autoinjectors (Rebidose/Rebismart [Rebif], Avonex pen [Avonex], Autoject/YpsoMate [Copaxone], Plegridy pen [Plegridy]). The answers were measured on a Likert scale from 1 (not at all important) to 10 (extremely important). This study will be presented at the ACTRIMS Forum 2021 on February 25-27, 2021.

Disclaimer

This media update contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as “potential,” “can,” “will,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “look forward,” “believe,” “committed,” “investigational,” “pipeline,” “launch,” or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this media update, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this media update will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG’s current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this media update as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this media update as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world’s top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com.

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at https://twitter.com/novartisnews

For Novartis multimedia content, please visit https://www.novartis.com/news/media-library

For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com

References

1. Ross A, Besser C, Naval S, et al. Patient and Nurse Preference for Sensoready^® Autoinjector Pen Versus Other Autoinjectors in Multiple Sclerosis: Results from a Multicenter Survey. ePoster presentation at: ACTRIMS Forum 2021; February 25-27, 2021.
2. Hauser S, Bar-Or A, Cohen J, et al. Ofatumumab versus teriflunomide in relapsing multiple sclerosis: Analysis of no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) from ASCLEPIOS I and II trials. Eur J Neurol. 2020;27(S1).
3. Hauser S, Bar-Or A, Cohen J, et al. Ofatumumab versus teriflunomide in relapsing multiple sclerosis. N Engl J Med 2020;383:546-57 https:/www.nejm.org.