Über ein Jahr B-Zell-gerichtete Therapie mit Ofatumumab s.c.: erste Ergebnisse einer prospektiven, patientenzentrierten Real-world-Beobachtungsstudie

INTRODUCTION: Ofatumumab (Kesimpta™) is a s.c. applicable anti-CD20 antibody, which has been used in Germany since 2021 for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). The self-application offers a high degree of independence from intravenous forms of application with highly effective immunotherapy. In this study we recorded the patient-centered experience in 99 out of 127 patients who were adjusted to the drug by us. The aim was to investigate the tolerability and acceptance from the patient’s perspective. METHODS: Data collection was carried out using doctor documentation, questionnaires and telephone interviews. RESULTS: The cohort consists of 127 patients. The patients received 2.8 (± SD 1.7) pre-therapies. The mean duration of therapy with Ofatumumab was 9.8 months (± SD 3.5). Structured data were collected from 99 patients. 23% of patients had no side effects during initial application. 19% rated the side effects as “very mild” and 18% as “mild”. In addition to chills/fever (48%), headache (46%), limb pain (45%) and “other symptoms” (19%) also occurred. For subsequent injections, 72% of patients reported no side effects. 87% of patients found handling the medication “very easy”. There was one relapse event during therapy. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that Ofatumumab is well accepted and tolerated by patients. There was one relapse event during the observation period. The side effects are mild and occur during initial application. No increased tendency to infection could be observed. The data suggest that Ofatumumab is also an effective and safe treatment option for patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in real-world use.