Abstract
Summary
Denosumab is an injectable drug that reduces the risk of fractures. The objective was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of denosumab in a Swedish setting, also accounting for poor adherence to treatment. Denosumab is cost-effective, particularly for patients at high risk of fracture and low adherence to oral treatments.
Introduction
Denosumab is a novel biologic agent developed for the treatment of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures that has been shown to reduce the risk of fractures in a phase III trial. The objective of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of denosumab from a societal perspective compared with generic alendronate, branded risedronate, strontium ranelate, and no treatment in a Swedish setting.
Methods
A Markov cohort model was used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of denosumab given for up to 5 years to a typical Swedish patient population (women aged 71 years, T-score ≤ −2.5 SD and a prevalence of morphometric vertebral fractures of 34%). The model included treatment persistence and residual effect after discontinuation assumed to be equal to the time on treatment. Persistence with the comparator treatments and with denosumab was derived from prescription data and a persistence study, respectively.
Results
The base-case incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were estimated at €27,000, €12,000, €5,000, and €14,000, for denosumab compared with generic alendronate, risedronate, strontium ranelate, and no treatment, respectively. Sub-optimal persistence had the greatest impact in the comparison with generic alendronate, where the difference in drug cost was large.
Conclusion
Improving persistence with osteoporosis treatment impacts positively on cost-effectiveness with a larger number of fractures avoided in the population targeted for treatment. Denosumab is a cost-effective alternative to oral osteoporosis treatments, particularly for patients at high risk of fracture and low expected adherence to oral treatments.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Amgen Inc. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA for funding model development and Steering Committee meetings. The authors are also grateful to Enkhe Badamgarav and David Macarios of Amgen Inc. and Deborah Marshall of the University of Calgary for their assistance in framing the research questions, aid in model development, and participation in the Steering Committee. The authors also sincerely appreciate the tremendous logistical and planning support provided by Dominika Dabrowski of i3 Innovus.
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Sponsored by Amgen.
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Jönsson, B., Ström, O., Eisman, J.A. et al. Cost-effectiveness of Denosumab for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Osteoporos Int 22, 967–982 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-010-1424-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-010-1424-x