Barriers to Access Multiple Sclerosis Disease-Modifying Therapies in Middle East and North Africa: A Regional Survey-Based Study

Maya Zeineddine (1) , Farid Boumédiène (2, 1) , Amal Al-Hajje (3) , Pascale Salameh (3) , Anne Helme (4) , Michael Thor (4) , B. Yamout (5)

1 EpiMaCT - Epidémiologie des Maladies Chroniques en zone tropicale
2 NET - Neuroépidémiologie Tropicale
3 LU / ULB - الجامعة اللبنانية [بيروت] = Lebanese University [Beirut] = Université libanaise [Beyrouth]
4 Multiple Sclerosis International Federation [UK]
5 Harley Street Medical Center Abu Dhabi

Multiple sclerosis (MS) management varies markedly between different countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region based on disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) availability, accessibility, and reimbursement. In general, introduction of novel DMTs in most MENA countries is usually delayed, as drug approval can take several months to years once approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Medicines Agency (EMA), depending on the country. To our knowledge, there are no published studies assessing the accessibility to DMTs across different countries of the region.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Maya Zeineddine, Farid Boumédiène, Amal Al-Hajje, Pascale Salameh, Anne Helme, et al.. Barriers to Access Multiple Sclerosis Disease-Modifying Therapies in Middle East and North Africa: A Regional Survey-Based Study. 38 th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, Oct 2022, AMSTERDAM, Netherlands. ⟨hal-04074126⟩