The role of galenic innovation in improving treatment compliance and persistence: three case studies

Abstract

Background:The purpose of this study was to explore whether newer galenic formulations with lower treatment burdens are associated with better patient compliance and persistence compared with older more burdensome modalities.Methods:Data from the IMS Disease Analyzer database were analyzed retrospectively for two pairs of analogs (alendronate sodium once daily vs once weekly and immediate-release vs extended-release methylphenidate) and one pair of drugs with similar indications but important differences in convenience and dosing instructions (desferrioxamine vs deferasirox). Compliance was calculated as the sum of prescription durations for all prescriptions for each patient over 1 year. Persistence was calculated as the time between first and last prescriptions over 2 years (1 year for deferasirox and desferrioxamine). Data from Germany and the UK were available and used for analysis.Results:Incremental improvements in compliance were +30% in the UK and +26% in Germany for alendronate once weekly vs once daily, +14% in the UK and +19% in Germany for extended-release vs immediate-release methylphenidate, and +15% in Germany for desferrioxamine vs deferasirox. Incremental improvements in persistence were +9 months in the UK and +8 months in Germany for alendronate once weekly vs once daily, +4 months in the UK and +3 months in Germany for extended-release vs immediate-release methylphenidate, and +2 months in Germany for deferasirox vs desferrioxamine.Conclusion:The new formulations that we evaluated were associated with better compliance and persistence compared with older formulations. Despite the fact that some sources of bias could not be excluded, it is likely that these improvements can be attributed to the lower treatment burdens of the galenic formulations of the drugs considered. Further investigation is required to confirm these findings and to determine whether new galenic formulations can improve health outcomes in routine clinical practice.

Impact of compounded drugs on the caregivers’ burden of home therapy management in pediatric palliative care: A descriptive study

“…The use of galenic compounds and its advantages on pediatric patients has recently been pointed out, 8–10 and this study further confirmed its effectiveness. In fact, the great majority of caregivers who had already used galenic formulations reported a great satisfaction, mainly because of the easiness of administration.…”

“…For these reasons, off-label drugs are often used to face these problems. [5][6][7] The use of galenic compounds has already been reported [8][9][10] to be an effective tool to simplify these patient's therapy, either in terms of type of formulation or time of delivery. Galenic (or compounded) drugs are accurately blended in the pharmacy's laboratory following accurate preparation laid down in the official pharmacopeia, so as to be as safe and effective as the industrial product.…”

Dose–exposure–IGF-I response of once-weekly somapacitan in adults with GH deficiency

“…The opportunity for delayed dosing is an improvement in treatment flexibility for patients with AGHD, in addition to the reduced injection frequency (from 365 to 52 injections per year), when switching from daily hGH to once-weekly somapacitan. Reductions in treatment frequency have previously been reported to increase treatment adherence in other chronic diseases, such as major depressive disorder, osteoporosis and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ( 22 , 23 , 24 ).…”