Survey Finds Patient, Nurse Preference for Biosimilar Etanercept's Autoinjector

Because patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may have compromised manual dexterity, they may have challenges with self-administering their biologic therapies. In the case of etanercept, which is typically administered once per week, device design that prioritizes ease of use can help improve patient adherence to treatment regimens.

A recent survey, results of which were published in Patient Preference and Adherence, investigated European patients’ preferences concerning different attributes of autoinjectors and their preferences among 4 autoinjector devices. A separate survey, completed by nurses who train patients with RA to use self-administration devices, sought to confirm findings on patient satisfaction.

Read more about autoinjector device design.

In total, 200 patients with RA—in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom—participated in the survey. The patients were then using the reference etanercept (Enbrel) MyClic device (n = 70), the biosimilar etanercept (Benepali) Molly device (n = 54), and the reference adalimumab (Humira) pen device (n = 76). Patients also tested a demonstration autoinjector for a new biosimilar etanercept (Erelzi) autoinjector device, SensoReady. A total of 100 nurses from the same countries were also recruited.

The patients surveyed reported that the most important attributes of autoinjectors were, on a 10-point scale on which 10 represented the highest level of importance:

• Easy to perform the self-injection (9.2)
• Easy to grip (9.0)
• Injection needles safely concealed (8.8)

The nurse group also rated ease of self-injection and ease of grip as important, but also rated starting the injection process without the need to push a button and the shape of the device as important.

Patients were asked to compare their current autoinjector device with the SensoReady device, and nurses were asked to compare it with all 3 available autoinjectors. When asked which device they would recommend to a patient with RA who had not used an autoinjector before, the majority of patients chose the SensoReady (81%), as did the majority of nurses (90%). Attributes of the device identified as important for preferring the SensoReady device included ease of use, shape, and provision of visual feedback.

The investigators concluded that in the patients with RA and nurses surveyed in 5 nations, the SensoReady device was considered easier to use than existing autoinjector device options for biologic therapy.

Reference

Tischer B, Mehl A. Patients’ and nurses preferences for autoinjectors for rheumatoid arthritis: results of a European survey. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2018;2(12):1413-1424. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S169339.