Erenumab Autoinjector Well Received by Patients, Study Finds

When it comes to ease of use, ability to self-inject, and confidence in using an erenumab-prefilled disposable autoinjector, individuals with migraine consistently endorsed the preventive treatment, according to study results published in Patient Preference and Adherence.

Erenumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor, which is believed to play a crucial role in migraine. The treatment can be injected as a 70-mg or 140-mg dose in adults with migraine on a monthly basis.

“Prefilled syringes ensure accurate dosing, sterility, and improved safety,” the authors wrote. “Consequently, the development of self-injection devices has improved patient acceptance of injections, ease of use compared with the conventional needle and syringe, and patient experience and preference.”

In this United States—based multicenter study, migraineurs recruited from 3 headache centers across the country rated the SureClick autoinjector. All participants were naïve to the use of an autoinjector for migraine or other conditions and CGRP therapy.

After receiving a supervised demonstration of the autoinjector in a 30-minute one-on-one session using a standard script, migraineurs were instructed to practice a simulated injection into an artificial tissue pad.

As visual needles are considered a potential barrier to patient adherence to self-injection, the needle in SureClick is shielded prior to use.

Migraineurs rated their agreement with 19 sentences pertaining to SureClick’s ease of use, look, and feel, in addition to their own ability to learn self-injection and confidence in performing self-injections.

In total, 204 migraineurs participated in the study, of whom 73% were female. Participants were also randomly assigned to use either the 70-mg or 140-mg autoinjector, with 50% of each group injecting into an artificial skin pad placed on the thigh and the remaining 50% injecting into a pad placed on the abdomen.

A 5-point Likeart scale questionnaire was used to rate agreement with the 19 statements (1 = completely disagree, 2 = somewhat disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = somewhat agree, 5 = completely agree).

Results showed:

• More than 90% of participants completely or somewhat agreed with 16 of 19 statements on ease of use of the device, ability to self-inject, and patient confidence in using the device, with an average rating of more than 4.5 on a 5-point Likert scale.
• 79% (161/204) of participants completely agreed that the autoinjector was easy to use, and 82% (168/204) completely agreed that the device was simple to use.
• Over 84% (173/204) of participants completely agreed that the device was easy to inject by pressing the start button, 80% were confident in their ability to use the device, and 69% were confident that they were using the injection device correctly.
• Statements related to preference of the size of the device and its compactness were rated 4.23 and 4.26, respectively.

“These findings demonstrate that the prefilled autoinjector device for erenumab was well received,” authors stated. “The high ratings of the autoinjector in this study indicate that the device is ideal for the administration of migraine therapy among individuals with migraines.”

The subjective nature of participant ratings marks a limitation to the study, in addition to the fact the study took place in a controlled environment as opposed to the patients’ homes. Findings also only include opinions of first-time users and do not reflect a learning curve.

Reference

Mead J, Dammerman R, Rasmussen S. Patient reported ease-of-use with a disposable autoinjector in individuals with migraine. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2020;14:1137-1144. doi:10.2147/PPA.S248584