BACKGROUND: Ocrelizumab (OCR) is the only disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for both relapsing and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). OCR is given by intravenous (IV) infusion twice a year, which may improve adherence to the dosing schedule relative to other MS DMTs that require more frequent administration. Real-world evidence on the persistence and adherence of patients with MS to OCR compared with other DMTs is limited.

Introduction Prior research has demonstrated that early treatment with high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), including ocrelizumab (OCR), can reduce relapses and delay disease progression among persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) compared with escalation from low-/moderate-efficacy DMTs. However, there is a lack of research examining the impact of early use of OCR on real-world clinical and economic outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate differences in events often associated with a relapse (EOAR) as well as non-DMT healthcare resource use (HCRU) and costs among pwMS who received OCR as a first-line treatment compared with later-line treatment after diagnosis. Methods Newly diagnosed adult pwMS were selected from deidentified Optum Market Clarity claims data (study period: January 1, 2015–June 30, 2021). All pwMS were required to have initiated OCR after diagnosis and have 12 months of continuous eligibility prior to diagnosis. The index date was the date of initiation of the first-line DMT after diagnosis. pwMS who initiated OCR as first-line (1L OCR cohort) or a second- or later-line treatment (2L + OCR cohort) were matched 1:1 based on length of continuous eligibility after the first-line DMT and weighted using stabilized inverse probability of treatment. In the follow-up period, differences in outcomes, including annualized EOAR, non-DMT HCRU and costs, were evaluated for pwMS in the 1L vs. 2L + OCR cohorts. Results The sample included 748 pwMS. During the follow-up period, pwMS in the 1L OCR cohort had a significantly lower annual rate of EOAR compared with pwMS in the 2L + OCR cohort (0.37 vs. 0.56; difference: 0.20 [95% CI 0.08, 0.32]). pwMS in the 1L OCR cohort had a significantly lower probability of any hospitalization within 1 year, fewer non-DMT outpatient visits and lower all-cause and MS-related, non-DMT costs compared with pwMS in the 2L + OCR cohort. Conclusions First-line initiation OCR was associated with improvements in clinical and non-DMT economic outcomes compared with later-line initiation of OCR, suggesting that early initiation may benefit both patients and the healthcare system. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40120-023-00523-3.