Interferons and Multiple Sclerosis: Lessons from 25 Years of Clinical and Real-World Experience with Intramuscular Interferon Beta-1a (Avonex).

ABSTRACT: Recombinant interferon (IFN) β-1b was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as the first disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1993. Since that time, clinical trials and real-world observational studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of IFN therapies. The pivotal intramuscular IFN β-1a phase III trial published in 1996 was the first to demonstrate that a DMT could reduce accumulation of sustained disability in MS. Patient adherence to treatment is higher with intramuscular IFN β-1a, given once weekly, than with subcutaneous formulations requiring multiple injections per week. Moreover, subcutaneous IFN β-1a is associated with an increased incidence of injection-site reactions and neutralizing antibodies compared with intramuscular administration. In

SUBMITTER: Cohan SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8258741 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature