Ak. Biddle et al., Cost-benefit analysis of sumatriptan tablets versus usual therapy for treatment of migraine, PHARMACOTHE, 20(11), 2000, pp. 1356-1364
We performed a systematic assessment of the costs and benefits of sumatript
an and usual therapy for migraine from society's perspective. A decision tr
ee was constructed with probability estimates based on data from an open-la
bel clinical trial assessing the economic and human impacts of sumatriptan
and usual therapy on nursing personnel. Direct medical care costs including
costs for drug, physician, and emergency room visits were considered. Bene
fits were estimated using the human capital approach based on the national
average of weekly earnings and productivity loss estimated from a migraine
clinical trial. The net benefits of sumatriptan and usual therapy for the t
reatment of a single migraine attack were estimated to be $50 and $20, resp
ectively. The annual incremental net benefit of sumatriptan over usual ther
apy was estimated to be $114-540/patient. The price difference was offset b
y benefits of sumatriptan in reducing use of health care resources and prod
uctivity loss.