New oral CMV prophylactic more cost effective than current standard?

Abstract

T esting and ‘pre-emptive’ therapy with IV ganciclovir for 2 months in the presence of viral shedding is currently the most favourable of 3 ganciclovir-based IV strategies for the management of cytomegalovirus disease in renal transplant recipients. This is the finding of an economic study that used a model to ascertain the likely value of a new oral drug for such patients before clinical data are available. ^* At the Third Annual Meeting of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) [ Philadelphia, US; May 1998 ], Dr Josephine Mauskopf from the Research Triangle Institute, North Carolina, US, used this model to show that if a new oral drug with a similar price and efficacy to IV ganciclovir was available, prophylaxis could be more cost effective than either the pre-emptive or the ‘wait-and-treat’ options.