ArticleNeurology2015
The cost of multiple sclerosis drugs in the US and the pharmaceutical industry: Too big to fail?
Article in Neurology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 111 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Exploration of Brain Changes Due to a Targeted Ballet Program in Multiple Sclerosis
Pilot Feasibility Study of Out-of-Pocket Cost Communication and Supportive Financial Services for Reducing Financial Toxicity Among Multiple Sclerosis Patients
Feasibility Study of Tolerogenic Fibroblasts in Patients With Refractory Multiple Sclerosis
Who cites it
111 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 262 citations in OpenAlex.
- Distortion in the Communication of Nonsignificant Primary Outcomes: The Spin Strategy in Multiple Sclerosis Trials.Annals of neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Economic burden of multiple sclerosis in the United States: A systematic literature review.Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy · 2023Pooled it
- Competition and price among brand-name drugs in the same class: A systematic review of the evidence.PLoS medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Modeling Approaches in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Disease-Modifying Therapies for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: An Updated Systematic Review and Recommendations for Future Economic Evaluations.PharmacoEconomics · 2018Pooled it
- Effects of a Remote Multimodal Intervention Involving Diet, Walking Program, and Breathing Exercise on Quality of Life Among Newly Diagnosed People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Quasi-Experimental Non-Inferiority Pilot Study.Degenerative neurological and neuromuscular disease · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Clinical feasibility of umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.Journal of translational medicine · 2018Trial
- Review
- Analysis of Health-Related Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis: A Bayesian Quantile LASSO Approach.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Direct Medical Costs Associated with Multiple Sclerosis in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Single-Center Cost of Illness Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Medicare Part D Use and Costs for Immune-Mediated Neurologic Therapies.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Neurologic Medication Costs in a Direct-to-Consumer Pharmacy vs Commercial Insurance Plans.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Debates over orphan drug pricing: a meta-narrative literature review.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2025Review
- Access to Care and Health-Related Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis.Neurology. Clinical practice · 2024Article
- The Role of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Agonists in the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis: A Narrative Review.Cureus · 2024Review
- Tolerability and Acceptance of Switching from Brand to Generic Glatiramer Acetate in Multiple Sclerosis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Knowledge domain and trend of disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis: A study based on CiteSpace.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Drugs Targeting CD20 in Multiple Sclerosis: Pharmacology, Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability.Drugs · 2024Review
- Feasibility and assessment of self-reported dietary recalls among newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis: a quasi-experimental pilot study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Cellular and Molecular Evidence of Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis and Treatment Challenges.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
51 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on byAuthor response.2015
- Commented on by
- Commented on byAuthor response.2015
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the pricing trajectories in the United States of disease-modifying therapies (DMT) for multiple sclerosis (MS) over the last 20 years and assess the influences on rising prices.
methodsWe estimated the trend in annual drug costs for 9 DMTs using published drug pricing data from 1993 to 2013. We compared changes in DMT costs to general and prescription drug inflation during the same period. We also compared the cost trajectories for first-generation MS DMTs interferon (IFN)-β-1b, IFN-β-1a IM, and glatiramer acetate with contemporaneously approved biologic tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors.
resultsFirst-generation DMTs, originally costing $8,000 to $11,000, now cost about $60,000 per year. Costs for these agents have increased annually at rates 5 to 7 times higher than prescription drug inflation. Newer DMTs commonly entered the market with a cost 25%-60% higher than existing DMTs. Significant increases in the cost trajectory of the first-generation DMTs occurred following the Food and Drug Administration approvals of IFN-β-1a SC (2002) and natalizumab (reintroduced 2006) and remained high following introduction of fingolimod (2010). Similar changes did not occur with TNF inhibitor biologics during these time intervals. DMT costs in the United States currently are 2 to 3 times higher than in other comparable countries.
conclusionsMS DMT costs have accelerated at rates well beyond inflation and substantially above rates observed for drugs in a similar biologic class. There is an urgent need for clinicians, payers, and manufacturers in the United States to confront the soaring costs of DMTs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.