Cost-effectiveness analysis of tocilizumab in combination with methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis: A Markov model based on data from Serbia, country in socioeconomic transition
Background/Aim. Recent studies have shown that biological treatments for rheumatoid arthritis can change the course of rheumatoid arthritis and improve functional ability of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In spite of this fact, use of biological therapy is still limited by high prices...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, University of Defence, Belgrade
2014-01-01
|
| Series: | Vojnosanitetski Pregled |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2014/0042-84501402144K.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Background/Aim. Recent studies have shown that biological treatments for
rheumatoid arthritis can change the course of rheumatoid arthritis and
improve functional ability of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In spite of
this fact, use of biological therapy is still limited by high prices of these
medicines, especially in countries in socioeconomic transition. The aim of
our study was to compare costeffectiveness of a combination of tocilizumab
and methotrexate with methotrexate alone for rheumatoid arthritis in Serbia,
a country in socioeconomic transition. Methods. For the purpose of our study
we designed a Markov model using data on therapy efficacy from the available
literature, and data on the costs of health states calculated from records of
actual patients treated in the Clinical Center Kragujevac, Serbia. The
duration of one cycle in our model was set at one month, and the time horizon
was 480 months (40 years). The study was done from the social perspective,
and all the costs and outcomes were discounted for 3% per year. Results.
Treating rheumatoid arthritis with diseasemodifying antirheumatic drugs
(DMARDs) alone was more cost-effective in comparison with a combination of
biologic treatment with tocilizumab and DMARDs. The total costs for treating
a patient with DMARDs for one year were on average 261,945.42 RSD, or
2,497.70 Euro and the total costs for treatment with tocilizimab plus DMARDs
were on average 1,959,217.44 RSD, or 18,659.20 Euro. However, these results
are susceptible to changes in costs and treatment effects of tocilizumab in
patients with more severe forms of rheumatoid arthritis. Conclusion. Our
results show that the use of tocilizumab for rheumatoid arthrits in economic
environment of Serbia is not cost-effective. Use of tocilizumab for treating
rheumatoid arthritis can become affordable, if costs of its use become lower.
In order to start using expensive biologic medicines in patients in
transitional countries, special strategy and pricing policy of international
pharmaceutical companies are necessary, which would include calculation of
prices of biologic medicines on the basis of local pharmacoeconomic studies.
[Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 175007] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0042-8450 |