RESTORE vision loss in DME - ranibizumab economically viable?

PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 655 - 9 Jun 2012

RESTORE vision loss in DME –ranibizumab economically viable?According to the authors of a study* based on 1-year

follow-up data from the RESTORE study, ranibizumab[Lucentis] monotherapy appears to be cost effectivecompared with laser photocoagulation monotherapy(the current standard of care) for treatment of diabeticmacular oedema (DME) causing vision loss in the UK.

They used a 15-year Markov model** to compare thecost effectiveness of ranibizumab monotherapy andranibizumab plus laser photocoagulation versus laserphotocoagulation monotherapy. The analysis wascarried out in a hypothetical cohort of patients with amean age of 63 years.

Compared with laser photocoagulation monotherapy,ranibizumab monotherapy resulted in anadditional 0.17 QALYs and costs of £4191, resulting inan incremental cost per QALY gained of £24 028. Thecorresponding cost per QALY gained for ranibizumabplus laser therapy versus laser monotherapy was£36 106.

The authors say that although ranibizumabmonotherapy appears to be cost effective, ongoingstudies (including the RESTORE extension) with provide"additional clarification" of the current uncertainties overthe likelihood of DME recurrence and the need forinjections after 2 years.* supported by Novartis Pharma AG** from the payer perspective with costs in 2010 values

Mitchell P, et al. Cost-effectiveness of ranibizumab in treatment of diabeticmacular oedema (DME) causing visual impairment: evidence from the RESTOREtrial. British Journal of Ophthalmology 96: 688-693, No. 5, 1 May 2012. Availablefrom: URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2011-300726 803071331

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 9 Jun 2012 No. 6551173-5503/10/0655-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved