AbbVie Presents Results from Large Global Study of Patient Attitudes and Adherence Across Six Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

PARIS, June 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) today announced results from its multi-country ALIGN study, which shows that across six chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), adherence to treatment was generally higher in patients being treated with TNF inhibitors compared to patients treated with conventional therapy. Furthermore, patients who were "accepting" toward their medication were more often adherent, compared to patients who were "ambivalent" toward their medication, as estimated from their responses to validated questionnaires. Results were presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2014 Congress in Paris.

"Getting patients to adhere to  medication continues to be a common healthcare problem, particularly among patients with chronic illnesses,"ⁱ said John Weinman, B.A., Ph.D., FBPsS, D.Sc, study investigator and professor of psychology at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King's College, London. "This study, across six chronic inflammatory diseases and 33 countries, is the first of its kind and provides the medical community with important insights into how patients' beliefs and concerns may influence treatment adherence."

The aim of the ALIGN study was to explore patients' (n=7,197) beliefs, concerns, attitudes and adherence toward TNF inhibitors and selected conventional therapies, used either alone or in combination to treat  rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC) or psoriasis (PsO). The study involved patients completing validated questionnaires, including Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) and the short Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-4).

Results showed adherence to treatment, as determined by MMAS-4 scores, was generally higher in patients treated with TNF inhibitors with or without conventional therapy compared to patients treated with conventional therapy. Across all treatment types, a higher percentage of "accepting" patients (feeling a high necessity for and low concern about medication) were adherent to treatment compared to "ambivalent" patients (feeling a high necessity and high concern) based on MMAS-4 analysis and combined BMQ scores.

According to the BMQ sub-score results, patients treated with TNF inhibitors, with or without conventional therapy, had a higher perceived "necessity" for treatment of their disease, compared to patients treated with conventional therapy. Additionally, patients' ratings of "concern" around their current treatment were similar between those treated with TNF inhibitors and conventional therapy. 

"These findings are encouraging given TNF inhibitors' role in the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases; however, there remains room for improving overall treatment adherence," said Maria Rivas, M.D., vice president, Global Medical Affairs, AbbVie. "AbbVie remains committed to providing educational resources and tools to help facilitate physician-patient dialogue so that physicians are more able to identify behaviors that may lead to a lack of adherence."

About the ALIGN Study
ALIGN (multi-country, cross sectionAL study to Determine patient specIfic and General beliefs towards medicatioN) was a study of adult patients diagnosed with one of six chronic IMIDs (RA, AS, PsA, CD, UC or PsO) who were receiving conventional therapy and/or TNF inhibitors and who were recruited by specialists at different disease severity stages. The largest proportion of patients received conventional therapies (40.3%), followed by TNF inhibitor monotherapy (32.0%) and combination therapy (27.7%). Patients completed validated questionnaires at a single visit, including BMQ and the MMAS-4 that assessed beliefs, concerns, attitudes and adherence toward medication.

Adherence across disease types was generally higher in patients receiving TNF inhibitors with or without conventional therapy (range of mean MMAS-4 scores, 3.4−3.7; 0–1=low adherence, 2–3=medium adherence, 4=high adherence), versus patients receiving conventional monotherapy (2.6−3.3) or combination therapy (2.8−3.4). Across all treatment types, high adherence according to MMAS-4 analysis was consistently lower among "ambivalent" patients (46.1%−69.0%) versus "accepting" patients (55.8%−77.6%) according to combined BMQ scores.

About Immune-mediated Inflammatory Diseases (IMIDs)
IMIDs are a group of progressive and potentially debilitating conditions that can affect various parts of the body. These include RA, AS, PsA, CD, UC and PsO. IMIDs can have a serious and damaging impact on the lives of those affected.ⁱⁱ

About AbbVie
AbbVie is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories.  The company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of the world's most complex and serious diseases.  AbbVie employs approximately 25,000 people worldwide and markets medicines in more than 170 countries.  For further information on the company and its people, portfolio and commitments, please visit www.abbvie.com.  Follow @abbvie on Twitter or view careers on our Facebook or LinkedIn page.

ⁱ Brown M, Bussell, J. Medication Adherence: WHO Cares? Mayo Clin Proc. Apr 2011; 86(4): 304–314
ⁱⁱ Kuek A, Hazleman BL and Ostor AJK. Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) and biologic therapy: a medical revolution. Postgrad Med J 2007; 83(978): 251-260

SOURCE AbbVie