Nationwide prescription big data: An evaluation of injectable, oral, and monoclonal antibody disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis
Esra Taşkıran1
, Bilgin Öztürk2, Naim Ata3, Şuayip Birinci3
1Department of Neurology, University of Health Sciences, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya, Türkiye
2Department of Neurology, University of Health Sciences, Gülhane Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye
3Ministry of Health of The Republic of Türkiye, Ankara, Türkiye
Keywords: Disease-modifying therapies, injectable treatments, multiple sclerosis, national data.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to assess changes over time in the use of disease-modifying therapies among patients with multiple sclerosis in Türkiye.
Patients and methods: This retrospective observational study used data obtained from national health information systems between January 2, 2015, and December 31, 2022. Patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (ICD-10 [International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision]: G35) who received disease-modifying therapies on at least three occasions during the study period were included. Therapies were classified as injectable, oral, or monoclonal antibody treatments. Annual utilization frequencies and proportional distributions were analyzed. All data were anonymized, and ethical approval was obtained.
Results: Data from 54,795 patients (37,574 females, 17,221 males; mean age: 43.4 ± 11.8 years; range, 11 to 93 years), comprising 562,899 treatment records, were analyzed. Over the study period, the use of injectable therapies gradually decreased, while the use of oral therapies and monoclonal antibody-based treatments markedly increased. Similar patterns were observed in both sexes.
Conclusion: Multiple sclerosis treatment practices in Türkiye have changed substantially in recent years. The increasing use of oral agents and monoclonal antibody therapies likely reflects expanding availability, reimbursement policies, and evolving prescribing practices. These findings provide valuable descriptive insights for clinical practice, healthcare planning, and policy development.
Cite this article as: Taşkıran E, Öztürk B, Ata N, Birinci Ş. Nationwide prescription big data: An evaluation of injectable, oral, and monoclonal antibody disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis. Turk J Neurol 2026;32(1):62-68. https://doi.org/10.55697/tnd.2026.622.
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
E.T., B.Ö.: Idea/concept, design, writing the article, critical review; N.A., Ş.B.: Control/supervision; E.T., B.Ö., Ş.B., N.A.: Data collection and/or processing; B.Ö.: Analysis and/or interpretation; E.T.: Literature review, funding materials.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/ or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.
The authors declare that artificial intelligence (AI) tools were not used, or were used solely for language editing, and had no role in data analysis, interpretation, or the formulation of conclusions. All scientific content, data interpretation, and conclusions are the sole responsibility of the authors. The authors further confirm that AI tools were not used to generate, fabricate, or ‘hallucinate’ references, and that all references have been carefully verified for accuracy.