Short report: Real-life analysis of the occurrence of persistent, transient, and fluctuating positive titres of neutralizing anti-drug antibodies in multiple sclerosis patients treated with interferon beta

Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2022 Jul:63:103815. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2022.103815. Epub 2022 Apr 17.

Abstract

Interferon beta (IFNβ) is a first line therapy for treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, up to 47% of treated patients will develop neutralizing anti-drug antibodies (NAbs) against IFNβ, which at high titres can inhibit the therapeutic effect of the drug. This study aimed to determine the frequency of transient and fluctuating NAb positivity in a real-world clinical routine setting using a large retrospective international cohort of IFNβ-treated MS patients collected as a part of the ABIRISK consortium (n = 9657). Transient and fluctuating NAbs were rare (2.6% and 0.9%, respectively), but bring noteworthy considerations about clinical decisions in context of NAbs.

Keywords: Immunogenicity; Interferon beta; Multiple sclerosis; Neutralizing antibodies.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Interferon beta-1a / therapeutic use
  • Interferon-beta* / therapeutic use
  • Multiple Sclerosis* / therapy
  • Retrospective Studies

Substances

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Interferon-beta
  • Interferon beta-1a