E-reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions by Patients in Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Adverse drug reactions are collected exhaustively during the experimental development phase of the drug, but the trial population is not representative. In post-marketing authorization, the use in the real life of medicines requires to specify the profile of adverse effects through pharmacovigilance. However, in clinical practice, under-reporting of adverse drug reactions prevents a satisfactory knowledge of the risks. For example, in the multiple sclerosis (MS) patients population in 2015, only 1 case of congestive flushing was reported by physicians, none by patients, for approximately 7,800 patients treated with Tecfidera® dimethyl-fumarate, while trials reported 39% of flush.

The investigators propose a study measuring the impact of the deployment of e-reporting to patients in a population suffering from multiple sclerosis in initiation of first line drug therapy. The study design will be a randomized controlled trial. Twenty-four direct or indirect partner centers of the OFSEP will be randomized in 2 arms (1 standard arm without intervention, and one interventional arm), Each arm including 6 CHU, 3 CHG and 3 liberal neurologists. CHUs will include 10 patients in 6 months, and CHGs and liberal neurologists 5 patients, a total of 180 patients will be included. The expected duration of this study is 12 months, 6 months of inclusion of patients, and one 6-month follow-up period for each patient. At 1 month (+/- 15 days) of the follow-up period of each patient, a questionnaire will be made by telephone call to each patient.

The study is part of the pharmacovigilance system in place in France and aims to improve its efficiency by increasing declarations and therefore earlier detection of signals in order to prevent and minimize risks.

The comparison of the two arms should make it possible to decide on the usefulness of national support for e-reporting, while respecting a good integration with the French pharmacovigilance system.