Winner
Accelerated Virtual Consensus Programme: Multiple Sclerosis and the COVID-19 Vaccination
Summary of work
In the COVID-19 pandemic, MSologists and Merck KGaA were receiving many questions on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination in patients receiving cladribine tablets for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). Bedrock and Merck KGaA identified that further provisions were required to bolster existing guidelines and treatment labels so that patients felt safe to continue their treatment whilst being vaccinated for COVID-19.
Moving together with speed was difficult but this was overcome by building a fully remote virtual community of experts who came together instantaneously to provide clarity within a record-breaking time frame. A consensus programme, based on a modified Delphi methodology was developed with a specific focus on vaccine timing, efficacy and safety to improve the care of patients with MS receiving treatment. It achieved a total of 13 clinical recommendations in 90 days, leading to a positive impact for MSologists providing reassurance to their patients.
The clinical recommendations were rapidly disseminated across targeted stakeholders. Abstracts and posters at two key congresses have received over 1,000 unique views to date, accompanied by ~6,000 unique views of the pre-print manuscript, and over 2,000 views/downloads of the manuscript from a peer-reviewed high impact journal, along with social media coverage.
Judges’ comments
Bedrock and Merck put together a really strong entry that felt like an imperative “must do” with a clear patient benefit. They had rigour in the assessment and had to get clear consiensus guidelines in a short time frame. The judges were impressed by the thinking behind the work and liked the agility. It ticks all the boxes, was very impressive and really stood out.
