An incisive report and dynamic analyst briefing service delivering insight from the most influential Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Key Opinion Leaders to map the current treatment landscape and analyse future trends.

Multiple Sclerosis : The oral era begins

The past year has seen landmark changes in multiple sclerosis, with the launch of two new novel oral products—Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate; Biogen Idec) and Aubagio (teriflunomide; Sanofi) —€”joining the first oral MS therapy, Novartis’s Gilenya (fingolimod). The arrival of these drugs is expected to revolutionise multiple sclerosis treatment and be a catalyst for unprecedented market growth.

Driven by in-depth interviews with the world’s leading multiple sclerosis KOLs, Therapy Trends: Multiple Sclerosis uncovers how the current treatment landscape will be impacted by significant future events, with particular focus on pipeline therapies and how these will modify the way MS is managed by neurologists in the future.

Drive your strategic decision-making with inside intelligence

Multiple Sclerosis : KOL Insight disseminates critical opinion and analysis to provide premier research.

• We cut to the heart of market-changing events and eliminate superfluous background information so you can focus on developments of greatest strategic impact and reduce your reaction time
• Our unique thought-leader selection matrix identifies the most influential KOLs in MS to deliver the perspectives vital in giving you a competitive edge, enabling informed decision-making and planning
• Detailed analysis of marketed and pipeline drugs helps you understand the products that will shape the future MS market
• KOL consensus on the future treatment algorithm offers a window into the future changes in medical evidence and clinical practice
• Uncovering KOLs’ opinions on unmet needs enables you to identify potential commercial opportunities
• Dynamic report updates evaluate the market impact of key events from KOL perspectives, allowing you to react to significant MS market developments within days of events occurring

Critical questions answered

Our MS KOLs are selected according to their level of engagement and influence within the pharmaceutical industry and their scientific standing. FirstWord’s unique KOL scoring system enables identification of KOLs with the greatest knowledge of how MS treatment will evolve and shape the future landscape.

• What are the key unmet needs? There is a high risk, high reward opportunity in the development of a therapy with efficacy for progressive subtypes.
• How will therapies will be positioned against each other in the future of MS treatment? Biogen’s new oral therapy Tecfidera is expected to usurp the current market leaders and become the first-line therapy of choice.
• Where do neurologists position Aubagio? Insight from 300 prescribers surveyed on positioning, prescription and pricing.
• How will treatment developments play out in the near future? Biogen's activity in broadening its robust pipeline shows its resolve in maintaining its leading position in MS.
• Is there potential for new players in the lucrative MS market? New entrants are set to capture significant share and cannibalise sales of the leading drugs.
• How will the launch of biosimilars affect prescribing behaviour? Pricing will be a key determinant in positioning and uptake.
• How will Novartis’s Gilenya be affected by recent safety concerns? Long-term concerns have kept it from being the first line therapy.
• Will the new John Cunningham Virus test encourage earlier adoption of Tysabri? This offers the first example of personalised medicine; a trend that will aid uptake in future.

The deliverables

Therapy Trends: Multiple Sclerosis is delivered in two complimentary formats:

Therapy Trends Intelligence Report: a concise, focused, in-depth market intelligence research report that examines the range of current and late-stage pipeline drugs to determine future trends in the treatment and diagnosis of MS, and assess the commercial impact on the MS market landscape.

Therapy Trends Impact Assessments: dynamic analyst briefings evaluating the impact of events in the MS market over the next 12 months, delivered to you within days of a significant event happening

Who should buy this report?

This report will be of value to senior pharma directors and managers with responsibilities in the following areas:

• Business Development
• New Product Planning
• Market Research
• Strategic brand planning
• Forecasting and marketing professionals
• Medical Affairs
• Clinical Trials
• Relationship Management

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Methodology
• Current multiple sclerosis marketplace
  > Current treatment landscape
  > Reimbursement of key multiple sclerosis brands
  > Multiple sclerosis unmet needs
• Current therapies
  > Clinical trial results of marketed therapies
  > Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate; Biogen) trends
  > Aubagio (teriflunomide; Sanofi/Genzyme) trends
  > Gilenya (fingolimod; Novartis) trends
  > Copaxone (glatiramer acetate; Teva) trends
  > Current treatment algorithm
• Symptomatic Treatment
  > Multiple sclerosis symptoms
  > Symptomatic multiple sclerosis therapies
  > Ampyra/Fampyra (dalfampridine; Acorda Therapeutics/Biogen) trends
  > Sativex (nabiximols; GW Pharma/Almirall/Otsuka/Bayer/Novartis) trends
• Pipeline therapies
  > Laquinimod (Teva) trends
  > Lemtrada (alemtuzumab; Genzyme/Sanofi) trends
  > Daclizumab HYP (Biogen/Abbott) trends
  > Ocrelizumab (Biogen/Roche) trends
  > Future treatment algorithm
• Future developments in multiple sclerosis
  > Constrained pricing environments will reduce market access
  > Clinically isolated syndrome will be considered early stage multiple sclerosis in the future
  > Trend for earlier diagnosis and treatment will produce better outcomes
  > Trend to more symptomatic therapies being developed
  > Eventual development of biomarkers will aid treatment
  > Better understanding of underlying multiple sclerosis etiology
  > Methods to assess treatment failure could be implemented in the future
  > More emphasis should be placed on long-term outcome measures
• Appendix
  > KOL biographies
  > KOLs from North America
  > KOLs from Europe

The MS KOL panel assembled for this Therapy Trends research is drawn from North America, Europe and Australia

• Chief and Chair of Neurology at Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale School of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health Immune Tolerance Network and the Autoimmunity Prevention Centre, USA
• Associate Professor of Neurology, the Department of Neurology, The Multiple Sclerosis and Movement Disorders Centre at Advance Neurology at Cornerstone Health Care Winston-Salem, USA
• Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Pediatrics, and Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, USA
• Professor and Medical Neurologist, MD, and expert in MS at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA
• Professor in Division of Neurology, University of Toronto, Canada
• Professor and Medical Neurologist, MD, and expert in MS at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Canada
• Doctor at Department of Neurology, University of Lille North of France, Hôpital Roger Salengro, Lille, France.
• Doctor at Department of Neurology, Neuroimmunology and Neuro-Oncology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
• Consultant Neurologist, Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust, Liverpool, UK.
• Professor and Medical Neurologist, MD, and expert in MS at Centre Neurologique et de Réadaptation Fonctionnelle, Fraiture-en-Condroz, Belgium
• Professor and Medical Neurologist, MD, and expert in MS at Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
• Staff Specialist Neurologist, Townsville Hospital, University of Queensland, Australia

Request a PDF of sample pages and full list of KOLs interviewed

FirstWord Therapy Trends intelligence reports and Therapy Impact Assessments are the product of intense, ongoing research campaigns that uncover unprecedented depth of insight into the future of the most commercially significant drug markets. 

Therapy Trends research is underpinned by rigorous methodologies, a team of in-house analysts and qualified medical experts, sophisticated real-time event monitoring systems, and access to one of the world’s largest online physician communities.  Core research processes draw on these knowledge assets, and enable reporting to clients on future trends in the treatment and diagnosis of medical conditions.

Unmatched sources of intelligence

Our unique disease selection matrix, which pinpoints those therapies of the highest commercial potential, evaluates signals from multiple sources:

• KOL panels comprised of the foremost experts in the treatment and diagnosis of major medical conditions
• Consensus ratings of therapeutic developments and events derived from a proprietary collaborative system involving 535,000 vetted physicians
• Live dispatches from our correspondent network who attend 125+ medical conferences each year, feeding-in critical meeting intelligence
• 2,000+ peer-reviewed medical journals
• 450+ pharmaceutical news sources, including our unique FirstWord Pharma intelligence database

Invaluable Insights

Therapy Trends yield a rich set of valuable market intelligence that will hone your strategic and investment focus, business intelligence resource and critical decision-making over the next 5 years:

• Unmet needs analysis to identify opportunities and address the challenges facing disease management
• Strategic mapping of future treatment algorithms based on KOL insight
• Commercial and clinical analysis of pipeline therapies
• In-depth and dynamic impact assessments of key players on the treatment landscape