RESEARCH ARTICLE
Patient Satisfaction with the Etanercept Biosimilar SB4 Device, Among Rheumatoid Arthritis and Spondyloarthropathy Patients - A German Observational Study
Christof Maucksch1, Peer M. Aries2, Silke Zinke3, Ulf Müller-Ladner4, *
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2020Volume: 14
First Page: 7
Last Page: 14
Publisher ID: TORJ-14-7
DOI: 10.2174/1874312902014010007
Article History:
Received Date: 21/02/2020Revision Received Date: 29/04/2020
Acceptance Date: 11/05/2020
Electronic publication date: 21/07/2020
Collection year: 2020
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background:
The etanercept biosimilar SB4 is a TNF inhibitor authorised for use as a targeted Biological Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug (bDMARD). Various administration devices have been developed for subcutaneous self-injection of bDMARDs.
Objective:
This study surveyed patient satisfaction with their experience of using the SB4 pre-filled pen device.
Methods:
This non-interventional, cross-sectional, multi-centre study enrolled adult rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthropathy patients who had been treated for at least three months with the SB4 pre-filled pen. Based on a standardized questionnaire, patients rated general satisfaction, handling, user-friendliness, physical characteristics, and training material received. A total of 492 eligible patients completed questionnaires at 43 centres across Germany between August 2017 and June 2018. Data were analysed descriptively. Pre-defined subgroup analyses by previous therapy and by indication were performed.
Results:
Overall, 87% (95% CI 83% - 90%) of patients reported being ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the pen. 89% of patients reported that the pen was ‘simple’ or ‘very simple’ to use. Most patients (87%) self-injected. 93% of patients who received training on the use of the pen were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the training provided. In this cross-sectional study, 12 patients reported an Adverse Event (AE) and one patient reported a treatment-related AE (nausea).
Conclusion:
The results demonstrated a high level of general satisfaction among patients using the SB4 pre-filled pen as well as satisfaction with ease of use for patients who were either naïve to bDMARDs or who had switched to SB4 from other bDMARDs.
