Cost-Outcome Description of PEG-IFN-α2b+RBV for Hepatitis C: Results Based on the Interferon Database

• Published in: Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin 2017/05/01, Vol.40(5), pp.594-597
• Main Authors: Akutagawa, Maiko, Kawasaki, Yohei, Kawasaki, Atsuko, Ide, Kazuki, Yamada, Hiroshi, Masaki, Naohiko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Clinical trials; Computer simulation; Decision making; Drug Costs; Drug development; economic evaluation; Evaluation; Health Care Costs; Hepatitis; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C - drug therapy; hepatitis c virus; Humans; Infections; Interferon; Interferon-alpha - economics; Interferon-alpha - therapeutic use; Markov chains; peginterferon; Polyethylene glycol; Public policy; Quality-Adjusted Life Years; real-world data; registry; Ribavirin; Ribavirin - therapeutic use; Statistical analysis; Viruses
• ISSN: 0918-6158; 1347-5215
• DOI: 10.1248/bpb.b16-00795

Economic evaluation of drugs is used in decision-making on medical care and public policy. Recently, real-world data (RWD) have been used in the analysis. In this study, we discuss the risk and benefits of using RWD for economic evaluation. We conducted a cost-outcome description with RWD from a nationwide registry providing information on hepatitis treatment in Japan and estimated the utility of the analysis. We evaluated the cost-outcome description of peginterferon plus ribavirin (PEG-IFN-α2b+RBV) treatment in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. Simulations were based on a Markov model. The cohorts were set using data from the registry and we assumed a societal perspective for the calculation of costs. The dose and drug cost were chosen based on the Japanese Guidelines for the Management of Hepatitis C Virus Infection or package inserts. Model details and parameters were as described in previous studies. The simulations were performed for a period of 10 years with no discount rate. We estimated 2.5 million JPY per Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) in 48-week PEG-IFN-α2b+RBV treatment for a period of 10 years. The results of this study are in agreement with previous HCV treatment economic evaluation studies in Japan. We analyzed the statistics of the HCV-infected patients at each disease stage using the data in our registry and calculated the costs. The results of this study more closely reflect a real-world clinical situation compared to the widely used randomized clinical trial method, which estimates clinical trial results and scenarios.