COST EVALUATION OF NOVEL THERAPEUTICS IN RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS (CENTRA) - A DECISION-ANALYSIS MODEL

This study was performed to evaluate the potential costs of a hypothet ical novel biological agent (BIO) as a therapy for rheumatoid arthriti s (RA), compared with oral methotrexate (MTX) and intramuscular gold ( IMG). A decision analysis model was used to compare the total costs of treating a cohort of 10,000 RA patients with each agent for 6 months. Total costs included direct costs and indirect costs. Baseline estima tes were subjected to sensitivity analysis. Total costs per person wer e: MTX, $5,430; IMG, $6,725; BIO, $9,411. In sensitivity analysis, the primary cost drivers for MTX and IMG were the indirect costs of RA an d monitoring costs. In contrast, total costs of the BIO were driven pr edominantly by medication costs. Sensitivity analysis showed, even whe n efficacy and safety were optimized, costs for the BIO still substant ially exceeded those of MTX and IMG. Medication costs will be an impor tant consideration in the development of novel BIOs for RA.