Multiple Sclerosis - What Are People With MS and Their Health Care Providers Really...

Multiple Sclerosis - What Are People With MS and Their Health Care Providers
Really Thinking?

- New national survey reveals insights on treatment of disease, psychosocial
burden, and delays in starting treatment

ROCKLAND, Mass. and NEW YORK, May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Multiple
Sclerosis (MS) Society, in collaboration with EMD Serono, today released
findings from a nationwide GfK Roper survey, "MS Viewpoints: Understanding the
Outlook on Emerging Therapies" in conjunction with the first-ever World MS
Day. The MS Viewpoints survey compared the perspectives of neurologists, MS
nurses and other healthcare professionals (HCPs)* and people living with MS on
treatments, psychosocial burdens of the disease, and delays in starting
treatment. Results from the survey uncovered that people newly diagnosed with
MS often delay starting treatment, citing fear or anxiety about current
treatment options as a key reason.

"At the National MS Society, we stress the importance of early treatment. It's
critical for physicians and people living with MS to sit down early and have a
candid conversation about an individual's concerns, fears and options for
treatment," said Dr. Nicholas LaRocca, vice president, health care delivery
and policy research, National MS Society. "World MS Day provides an
opportunity to unite internationally and raise global awareness of MS and its
impact on people living with the disease starting at diagnosis."

Results from the survey revealed that nearly 20% of people living with MS
reported delaying the start of treatment for a variety of reasons, including
fear or anxiety over treatment. Differences emerged between physicians and
people living with MS about how much this fear affects their lives. In the
survey, the majority of physicians, and MS nurses and other HCPs reported that
anxiety around treatment impacts people living with MS "a great deal" or
"somewhat" compared to less than half of those living with the disease who
expressed such views.

*Nursing and other HCPs survey participants included: registered nurses,
certified medical assistants, licensed practical nurses, nurse practitioners,
physicians' assistants and certified nurse specialists

"Patient and physician dialogue has come a long way in recent years, but there
is still work to be done," said Harold Moses Jr., MD, assistant professor of
Neurology at Vanderbilt University. "As new therapies are approved and enter
the market, we expect to see more discussion about whether these options are
right for patients. In fact, the entire patient/physician dialogue may start
to shift."

The MS Viewpoints survey uncovered that while individuals currently on
treatment report being generally satisfied with their treatment, nearly
one-third (33%) of people living with MS reported that their current MS
treatment interferes with their quality of life and daily activities such as
work/career, exercise routine and sleeping habits, topics that are more likely
to be discussed by their MS nurse or other HCP than by their physician.

"The dialogue between a person living with MS and a nurse or other healthcare
provider is important because it often focuses on the impact of MS on
day-to-day activities," said Amy Perrin-Ross, APN, MSN, CNRN, MSCN,
neuroscience program coordinator, Loyola University Chicago, and president of
the International Organization of Multiple Sclerosis Nurses (IOMSN). "Perhaps
this is why the survey showed that nurses and other HCPs were more likely than
physicians to believe people with MS who initially delayed starting their
prescribed MS therapy would have instead started therapy more quickly if an
oral medication had been available."

About the Survey
Independent research group, GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media, conducted the
survey, interviewing 250 neurologists, 250 MS nurses and other HCPs, and 250
people living with relapsing MS. Interviews focused on understanding and
comparing views of the current treatment landscape and the potential impact of
emerging therapies, and also explored some of the psycho-social barriers that
people living with MS face on a daily basis.

The survey was conducted via phone in the United States (US) by GfK Roper on
behalf of the National MS Society in collaboration with EMD Serono between
November 2008 and February 2009. The survey looked at neurologists (n=250), MS
nurses and other HCPs (n=250) and people with relapsing MS (n=250). Following
their survey, physicians were asked to recruit people with MS. Survey length
averaged 19 minutes for neurologists and nurses and other HCPs, and 24 minutes
for people living with MS. Statistical testing was done at a 95% confidence
interval. A full methodology is available upon request.

About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive disease of the central
nervous system (CNS) that affects approximately 400,000 Americans and as many
as 2.1 million individuals worldwide. While symptoms can vary, the most common
symptoms of MS include blurred vision, fatigue, numbness or tingling in the
limbs and problems with strength and coordination. The relapsing forms of MS
are the most common.

About the National MS Society
The National MS Society addresses the challenges of each person affected by MS
through funding cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy,
facilitating professional education, collaborating with MS organizations
around the world, and providing programs and services designed to help people
with MS and their families move their lives forward. In 2008 alone, through
the national office and its 500-state network of chapters, the Society devoted
over $136 million to programs that enhanced more than one million lives. The
Society also invested nearly $50 million to support 440 research projects
around the world. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS.
Join the movement at: www.nationalmssociety.org.

About World MS Day
The first World MS Day will be observed on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 and on the
last Wednesday of every May in the future. World MS Day has been established
to raise awareness of MS and the importance of the global MS movement,
encourage enhanced international collaboration to move us closer to a world
free of multiple sclerosis, and generate additional funds to support the
global MS movement. There are many ways to take action on World MS Day.
Register to be part of the global movement by visiting www.worldmsday.org, and
make your voice heard in your local community by visiting
www.nationalMSsociety.org.

About EMD Serono
EMD Serono, Inc., an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is a leader
in the US biopharmaceutical arena, integrating cutting-edge science with
unparalleled patient support systems to improve people's lives. The company
has strong market positions in neurodegenerative diseases, with Rebif(R)
(interferon beta-1a), as well as in endocrinology, with Saizen(R) (somatropin
(rDNA origin) for injection), Serostim(R) (somatropin (rDNA origin) for
injection) and Zorbtive(TM) (somatropin (rDNA origin) for injection). EMD
Serono is a leader in fertility treatments, with Gonal-f(R) (follitropin alpha
for injection), Luveris(R) (lutropin alfa for injection) and Ovidrel(R)
Prefilled Syringe (choriogonadotropin alpha injection). With a clear focus on
the patient and a leadership presence in the biopharmaceutical industry, EMD
Serono's US footprint continues to grow, with more than 1000 employees around
the country and fully integrated commercial, clinical and research operations
in the company's home state of Massachusetts. For more information, please
visit www.emdserono.com

About GfK Roper
GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media is a division of GfK Custom Research North
America specializing in customized public opinion polling, media &
communications research, and corporate reputation measurement - in the US and
globally. In addition to delivering a broad range of customized research
studies, GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media draws from GfK's syndicated consumer
tracking services, GfK Roper Reports(R) US and GfK Roper Reports(R) Worldwide,
which monitor consumer values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors in the US and
more than 25 other countries. Headquartered in New York, GfK Custom Research
North America is part of the GfK Group. With home offices in Nuremburg,
Germany, the GfK Group is the No. 4 market research organization worldwide.
Its activities cover three business sectors: Custom Research, Retail and
Technology, and Media. The Group has more than 115 companies covering 100
countries. For further information, visit: www.gfk.com.

SOURCE EMD Serono; National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Arney Rosenblat of National Multiple Sclerosis Society, +1-212-476-0436,
arney.rosenblat@nmss.org; or Melissa Hill of EMD Serono, Inc.,
+1-781-681-2719, melissa.hill@emdserono.com