Background: Appropriate counseling and treatment for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who may become pregnant requires an understanding of the effects of exposure to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) during pregnancy. Current reports and studies are limited in their usefulness, mostly by small sample size. Branded glatiramer acetate (GA) is a DMT approved for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS. For more than 2 decades, it has been shown to be efficacious and to have a favorable safety profile. The Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd global pharmacovigilance database comprises data from more than 7000 pregnancies, during which women with MS were exposed to treatment with branded GA.
Methods: We analyzed data from Teva's global pharmacovigilance database. Pregnancy outcomes for patients treated with branded GA were compared with reference rates of abnormal pregnancy outcomes reported in two large registries representing the general population.
Results: Pregnancies exposed to branded GA were not at higher risk for congenital anomalies than what is expected in the general population.
Conclusions: These data provide evidence that branded GA exposure during pregnancy seems safe, without teratogenic effect.