Search

Background and Objective: In asthma, symptom control is a primary goal that is not consistently met with available treatment options. The first commercially available fixed-dose combination in a single inhaler of a long-acting beta-agonist (indacaterol, IND), an inhaled corticosteroid (mometasone furoate, MF) and a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (glycopyrronium, GLY) has shown promising clinical results in phase III trials. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the cost-utility of IND/GLY/MF fixed-dose combination relative to a combination of salmeterol/fluticasone and tiotropium or salmeterol/fluticasone or IND/MF in adult patients with asthma, from the Italian Health Service (NHS) perspective. Methods: A two-state and 4-week cycle Markov model was used to estimate lifetime clinical outcomes and costs. Patients entered the model in stable disease and could experience a non-fatal exacerbation event. The exacerbation rate is dependent upon the therapy a patient is receiving, as per the IND/GLY/MF clinical trials. The impact of each type of exacerbation is accounted by applying a utility decrement, obtained from the literature, and a treatment cost. Utility values were obtained from the EQ-5D questionnaires in the IND/GLY/MF clinical trials. Lifetime costs considered in the analysis were drugs and exacerbation management. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses were carried out, with the aim of evaluating the impact of uncertainty on input parameters. Results: IND/GLY/MF is associated with a higher quality of life [+ 0.25 quality-adjusted life-year (QALY)] than salmeterol/fluticasone plus tiotropium, with an incremental cost of −€3213.90. The incremental cost-utility ratio indicates dominance. At a threshold of €5000 per QALY, IND/GLY/MF has nearly a 100% probability of being cost effective. IND/GLY/MF is associated with a higher quality of life (+ 0.21 QALY) than salmeterol/fluticasone, with an incremental cost of €2547.76. Incremental cost-utility ratio results in €11,897 per QALY. At a threshold of €20,000 per QALY, IND/GLY/MF has nearly a 100% probability of being cost effective. IND/GLY/MF is associated with a higher quality of life (+ 0.34 QALY) than IND/MF, with an incremental cost of €4745.91. Incremental cost-utility ratio results in €14,088 per QALY. At a threshold of €20,000 per QALY, IND/GLY/MF has nearly a 100% probability of being cost effective. Conclusion: The results indicate that IND/GLY/MF is cost effective against the considered comparators in a cohort representative of adult patients with asthma in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]