ICER does a disservice to people living with multiple sclerosis

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      March 28, 2019

Media inquiries: Daniel Kantor, MD (904)687-7879 or dkantor@MP4MS.com

ICER does a disservice to people living with multiple sclerosis

Coconut Creek, Fl. – Recently, a self-appointed non-governmental organization with various industry backings, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) released a premature, flawed draft evidence report on Novartis's Mayzent® (siponimod) for the treatment of SPMS, which much like ICER's 2017 report on disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis, was not truly patient-centric and largely ignored comments by the patient MS community (and even quoted a focus group of three patients). Instead of comparing siponimod to other MS DMTs FDA-approved for relapsing forms of MS, it compared siponimod to "best supportive care" (i.e. no disease modifying treatment at all). Even the other DMTs discussed in the draft report do not include many of those already used (and approved by the FDA) for the treatment of active SPMS (such as, fingolimod, teriflunomide, dimethyl fumarate and alemtuzumab). 

"People living with MS face many potential challenges," according to Dr. Daniel Kantor, Founder and President of the Medical Partnership 4 MS (MP4MS), "but fending off inaccurate reports written by organizations with unclear backing, shouldn't be one of them." As the largest physician and allied healthcare professional organization comprised of those interested in caring for people with MS (as opposed to large MS centers), MP4MS appreciates and congratulates the U.S. FDA for clarifying the definition of relapsing forms of MS. Unlike ICER, MP4MS accepts no industry financial support.

Dr. Bhupendra Khatri, an active member of MP4MS and an MS specialist from Milwaukee, WI said that "the self-appointed Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is once again doing a disservice to people living with chronic medical conditions by not fully researching or vetting its (even draft) evidence reports." On page 16 of ICER's draft report, under the section Summary of Coverage Policies and Clinical Guidelines, it states that "we were unable to identify any NCDs or LCDs relating to the use of DMTs for MS." Unfortunately, ICER has once again (originally, prior to being corrected by organizations actually knowledgeable about MS, ICER incorrectly referred to RRMS as "remitting-relapsing multiple sclerosis") demonstrated its naiveté regarding MS since Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation L34741, does in fact include multiple sclerosis in the coverage determination of one of the intravenous medications, natalizumab.

Furthermore, ICER's estimation of the monitoring costs of the first dose observation (FDO) of a higher risk cardiac group of siponimod patients woefully underestimates the true costs associated with such monitoring. "Instead of calculating the cost of FDO, ICER ignores the healthcare costs of monitoring a patient for 6 hours, and simply inputs the cost of a follow-up office visit and two electrocardiograms," said Dr. David Brandes an MS specialist and MP4MS member in Knoxville, TN. "People with MS deserve better, and MP4MS calls upon the entire MS community to stand up to outside influences attempting to limit access to care, " said Dr. Kantor.

About the Medical Partnership 4 MS (MP4MS):

The Medical Partnership 4 MS (MP4MS) is committed to advocating for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the southern United States by engaging the varied stakeholders, and by returning health care to the core values of a strong and united patient-doctor relationship. As the largest advocacy group on behalf of providers of MS care, the MP4MS is composed of over 1,300 neurologists and allied health professionals dedicated to the treatment and management of patients with MS, and remains independent by not accepting financial support from the pharmaceutical or insurance industries.

About Neurology Benefit Management, LLC

Neurology Benefit Management, LLC increases quality of neurological care and reduces costs by aiding healthcare professionals and payors in the appropriate evidence-based management of patients with neurological conditions.

About Multiple Sclerosis (MS):

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common acquired disabling neurologic disease of the young. Most people are diagnosed in their twenties to forties, and live life with a relapsing-remitting form of this demyelinating autoimmune disease, and many of them transition to secondary-progressive MS, with disability progression between relapses or even in the absence of relapses.  Newer estimates of the prevalence of MS are that there are close 1,000,000 people living with MS in the U.S. today.