Persistency, medication prescribing patterns, and medical resource use associated with multiple sclerosis patients receiving oral disease-modifying therapies: a retrospective medical record review.

Background: In the US, the approved multiple sclerosis (MS) oral disease-modifying therapies (ODMTs) are fingolimod (FTY), teriflunomide (TFN), and dimethyl fumarate (DMF). FTY and TFN are recommended with once-daily doses with no up-titration, whereas DMF treatment is recommended twice-daily (BID) and is initiated with a 7-day starter dose of 120 mg BID before up-titration to the maintenance dose of 240 mg BID. Limited information exists regarding real-world ODMT prescribing patterns to aid physician/patient decision-making.