By: John Gregory 

Between 2009 and 2015, spending on patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) greatly increased, with disease modifying therapies (DMTs) accounting for 82 percent of that increase as prices jumped every year and use slightly declined.

The report from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) examined claims for people with MS from 2009 to 2015 covered by individual market, employer-sponsored or Medicare Advantage plans. It found total spending per MS patient rose from around $23,900 to $39,628 by 2015. During the same time period, the share of spending spent towards injectable and oral DMTs rose from 39 percent to 53 percent.

DMTs are believed to slow progression of MS and reduce the frequency and severity of attacks which can cause weakness, changes in vision and difficulties in coordination. Its injectable forms, such as Copaxone and Avonex, were the older method of treatment and began being challenged by newer oral DMTs: Gilenya (introduced in 2010), Aubagio (2012) and Tecifidera (2013).

Use of DMTs increased from 2012 to 2015 coinciding with the availability of those new oral treatments. They didn't come cheap, as Tecifidera accounted in $4,706 in spending per MS patient in 2015. Unsurprisingly, the availability of new treatments caused use of the older injectable DMTs to decline—but spending on those drugs continued to go up. For example, while Copaxone saw its use decrease by 24 percent between 2009 and 2015, its spending increased from $3,634 per person to $6,163 over the same time frame, a nearly 70 percent jump.