Ocrelizumab Has Long-Term, Positive Effects on MS Symptoms, Productivity

Switching to ocrelizumab from other disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis is associated with improvements in work productivity and a decrease in overall symptom burden, according to an analysis from the phase 3b CASTING trial (NCT02861014).

These findings were presented by Gary Cutter, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, at the 2021 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) Annual Meeting, October 25-28, 2021 in Orlando, Florida.

Cutter and colleagues set out to quantify the effects on work productivity and activity impairment that switching to ocrelizumab (Ocrevus, Genentech) has on patients with MS over a 2-year period.

In this analysis, 680 patients with MS with a suboptimal response to 1 or 2 prior DMTs received 600 mg intravenous ocrelizumab every 24 weeks for 96 weeks, during which changes in the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire, 29-item Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29), and SymptoMScreen (self-reported symptom burden) were assessed at baseline, week 24, year 1, and year 2.

Of note, patients in the cohort had an Expanded Disability Status Scale score ≤4. From baseline to year 3, significant reductions in overall work impairment and activity impairment were recorded as improvements in WPAI (∆−3.08, P = .020; ∆−5.69, P < .001), with consistent trends noted in work time missed (∆−2.54, P = .102) and impairment while working (∆−1.66, P = .129). As such, improvements in WPAI correlated with improvements in total SymptoMScreen score, including work time missed (r_s = 0.196), impairment while working (r_s = 0.387), overall work impairment (r_s = 0.362), and activity impairment (r_s = 0.421) over 2 years (all P < .01).

Additional correlations were observed between improved in MSIS-29 physical and psychological subscores and reductions in work time missed (physical: r_s = 0.181; psychological: r_s = 0.198), impairment while working (physical: r_s = 0.457; psychological: r_s = 0.361), overall work impairment (physical: r_s = 0.386; psychological: r_s = 0.343), and activity impairment (physical: r_s = 0.524; psychological: r_s = 0.384) over 2 years (all P < .01).

Overall, the findings demonstrate ocrelizumab’s association with improvements in physical and psychological aspects of MS over the long-term.