Safety of fingolimod in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis: A descriptive analysis of data from the...

The most prevalent disease course of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Fingolimod (Gilenya®) was the first oral disease-modifying therapy to RRMS. Patients affected by MS require long-term treatment, making the ongoing evaluation of the safety profile of fingolimod imperative. The aim of this study was to analyze the post-marketing pharmacovigilance data of fingolimod in Europe. Data of 12-year period (1 January 2011-19 June 2023) were obtained from EudraVigilance, and a descriptive analysis using drug-reaction pairs was performed. A total of 22,957 reports were collected. The most reported adverse events (AEs) were related to nervous system disorders SOC (multiple sclerosis relapse n = 2271; 3.51%, headache n = 921; 1.42%, central nervous system lesion n = 893; 1,38%, dizziness 769; 1,19%, hypoaesthesia 487; 0.75% and multiple sclerosis 449; 0.69%), followed by investigations (lymphocyte count decreased n = 1648; 2.55%, white blood cell count decreased n = 833; 1.29%), blood and lymphatic system disorder (lymphopenia n = 1146; 1.77%), and general disorders and administration site condition (fatigue n = 1106; 1.71%, gait disturbance 564; 0.87%). A percentage of 23.00% of serious adverse events (SAEs), among the most reported were multiple sclerosis relapse (n = 2271; 15.27%), macular oedema (n = 793; 5.33%), bradycardia (n = 678; 4.56%), leukopenia (n = 533; 3.58%), and multiple sclerosis (n = 449; 3.02%). Most of AEs were non-serious, some SAEs related to cardiac, ophthalmic and infectious disorders emerged: their prevalence, along with the alignment of reported AEs with existing literature, supports the overall safety of fingolimod. Considering the rare and long-term ADRs that may arise in patients chronically treated for MS, continuous pharmacovigilance remains essential.