Patient and healthcare provider experience of diroximel fumarate: considerations for selecting disease-modifying therapy

To evaluate treatment perceptions of diroximel fumarate (DRF) for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), with contextual data from dimethyl fumarate (DMF) users, based on patient and healthcare provider (HCP) surveys. A prospective web-based survey was conducted among MyMSTeam users aged ≥ 21 years in the United States, who provided information about their MS disease and treatment history. The Spherix HCP survey collected retrospective chart data from HCPs for patients who switched disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). Of 535 MyMSTeam respondents, 77 (14%) received DMF and 46 (9%) received DRF. DRF users reported physical and emotional benefits such as slowed disease progression, decreased relapses, and new symptom prevention, with 70% noting at least one physical benefit and 46% reporting emotional/quality of life benefits. Additionally, 83% found DRF tolerable. HCPs reported prescribing DRF due to good tolerability (58%) and a preference for oral administration (50%). The most common reasons for switching to DRF were lack of efficacy (52%) or poor tolerability (49%) of previous DMTs. A real-world, patient-focused survey on MS treatment suggested DRF was well tolerated and associated with patient-reported physical benefits. HCP-reported reasons for selecting DRF included efficacy and tolerability issues with prior DMT.