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Cost‐effectiveness of omalizumab in chronic spontaneous urticaria
Author(s) -
Kanters T.A.,
Thio H.B.,
Hakkaart L.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1111/bjd.17050
Subject(s) - omalizumab , medicine , ciclosporin , quality of life (healthcare) , health care , intensive care medicine , cost effectiveness , indirect costs , surgery , chemotherapy , immunoglobulin e , nursing , risk analysis (engineering) , immunology , business , accounting , economics , antibody , economic growth
Summary Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a skin disease which causes itchy hives that last for at least 6 weeks, and without an obvious external trigger. CSU can affect people's quality of life and performance at school and work. CSU also has an impact on society and the economy, due to healthcare costs, time off work, and so on. International recommendations advise that CSU is first treated with antihistamines, the dosage of which can be increased (updosed). Some patients also receive leukotriene antagonists (LTRAs). If this does not work, doctors can prescribe drugs called omalizumab or ciclosporin. Ciclosporin has been shown to be effective, but it is linked with potential side‐effects. Omalizumab is an add‐on treatment; patients also receive antihistamines and LTRAs. Omalizumab is an effective treatment for CSU, as it reduces the symptoms. However, omalizumab is also more expensive than existing treatments. To oppose rising healthcare costs, healthcare authorities increasingly use cost‐effectiveness as a factor when deciding which treatments should be recommended. In this study, a way of measuring cost‐effectiveness (a model) was built to assess the cost‐effectiveness of omalizumab. The objective of this study, carried out by researchers in the Netherlands, was to determine the cost‐effectiveness of omalizumab compared to standard care, namely updosed antihistamines. The study looked at quality of life, costs within the healthcare sector, patient and family costs (informal care costs) and costs to other sectors. Drug costs per 4 weeks of treatment with omalizumab were €745, compared with drug costs for standard care of only €32. In addition, administration costs of €14 per injection were applicable for omalizumab. However, costs in other sectors (i.e. productivity costs, such as being able to work) constituted the largest share of the total costs for both treatment options, but were lowest for omalizumab. Savings on these indirect costs largely compensated for increased drug costs. In this study, omalizumab was shown to be more effective than SoC, but also more costly. However it was still deemed cost effective.