Usage and Costs of Treatment with Beta Interferon among Patients with Multiple Sclerosis in Fars province

Multiple Sclerosis is an inflammatory and demyelinating disease of central nervous system. It is the second most common cause of disability in young adults after trauma. Nowadays, Beta- Interferons are used as the best choice of disease modifying therapy in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. There is a remarkable difference in the uses of these medications between developed and developing countries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the rate and costs of treatment with Beta-Interferon in patients with MS in Fars Province. In a descriptive study, all patients who were registered in Shiraz multiple sclerosis society, and were treated with Beta-Interferon (confirmed by the MS Committee of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences) were recruited to the study. A total of 1791 patients had received Beta-Interferon. The most and the least types of the medications used by the patients were Cinovex (28%) and Resigen (2.9), respectively. Many patients (No=587; 33.1%) used Iranian brand of interferon (Cinovex and Recigen) and 1185 patients (67.9%) used medications made in other countries. Prescription of Iranian brands of medications was considerably increased from 2006 to 2010. The annual costs of treatment with Beta-interferon were approximately 126 milliard Rials. A Majority of the MS patients used Beta-Interferon in Fars Province. In recent years, usage of Iranian brand of beta interferon has been largely increased. Despite this fact, more than half of Iranian patients received Beta-Interferons which were made in other countries. Annual cost of these medications was high (more than 126 milliard Rials) in Fars province.