Cost-effectiveness studies of new hepatitis C treatments

BlueCross BlueShield Association
Record ID 32015000458
English
Authors' objectives: To evaluate current published health economic evaluations of the newest hepatitis C treatments sofosbuvir and simeprevir, focusing on: - The structure and perspective of the relevant studies - Important parameters and assumptions of these studies - Central results of the studies - Interpretation of study findings - Future research needs in economic studies
Authors' recommendations: The studies have significant limitations and limited value in assessing the health and economic effects of sofosbuvir and simeprevir in the U.S. health care system. The CTAF analysis measures outcomes as treatment success and is not easily compared with the other studies. Among the 3 studies that translate health outcomes into life-years or QALYs gained, all 3 studies found that sofosbuvir-based treatment was either cost-effective or cost-saving compared with comparator treatments. However, we identified several methodologic problems in each study, making the conclusions suspect. The studies by Leleu et al and Saab et al were funded by the manufacturer of sofosbuvir. We also identified several aspects of economic evaluations that should be addressed in future research to make such studies more relevant to health policy.
Details
Project Status: Completed
Year Published: 2014
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Not Assigned
Country: United States
MeSH Terms
  • Hepatitis C, Chronic
  • Hepacivirus
  • Simeprevir
  • Sofosbuvir
Contact
Organisation Name: BlueCross BlueShield Association
Contact Address: BlueCross BlueShield Association, Technology Evaluation Center, 225 North Michigan Ave, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Tel: 888 832 4321
Contact Name: tec@bcbsa.com
Contact Email: tec@bcbsa.com
Copyright: BlueCross BlueShield Association (BCBS)
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.