Winner
Accelerated Virtual Consensus Programme: Multiple Sclerosis and COVID-19 Vaccination
by Merck KGaA with support from Bedrock Healthcare Communications
Summary of work
During the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple sclerosis (MS) experts and Merck KGaA were receiving many questions regarding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination in patients receiving cladribine tablets (CladT) for the treatment of relapsing MS. Merck KGaA identified that specific guidance was required to bolster existing guidelines and treatment labels, so that healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients were reassured to continue treatment whilst being vaccinated against COVID-19. The challenge was developing robust guidance in a timely manner.
With support from Bedrock, a fully virtual community of experts was created, who came together, within a record-breaking timeframe. A consensus programme, based on a modified Delphi methodology was developed with the aim of providing clarity on vaccine timing, efficacy, and safety to improve the care of patients with MS receiving CladT. A total of 13 clinical recommendations were agreed in 90 days, providing much-needed guidance and reassurance for HCPs and 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 ~9,000 unique views of the pre-print manuscript, and over 3,000 views/downloads of the manuscript from a high-impact peer-reviewed journal, along with social media coverage.
Judges’ comments
Merck KGaA and Bedrock have identified a beautifully simple solution to a pressing need. The judges recognised that achieving actional consensus on guidelines is always challenging, which is exacerbated by HCPs workloads, but the results achieved here are impressive. The approach was bold and imaginative, and the execution very well planned and delivered.
