Dapagliflozin May Be Cost-Effective for Treating CKD

FRIDAY, Nov. 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Dapagliflozin seems to be cost-effective in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain for patients meeting the eligibility criteria for the Dapagliflozin and Prevention of Adverse Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease (DAPA-CKD) trial, according to a study published online Nov. 2 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Phil McEwan, Ph.D., from Health Economics and Outcomes Research in Cardiff, Wales, and colleagues estimated the cost-effectiveness of dapagliflozin from payer perspectives in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain. Direct health care costs and utility values were sourced based on published literature and the DAPA-CKD trial, which demonstrated that dapagliflozin reduced CKD progression and kidney replacement therapy requirement when added to standard therapy.

The researchers found that in patients eligible for the DAPA-CKD trial, dapagliflozin was predicted to reduce CKD progression rates, with patients predicted to spend 1.7 more years in the estimated glomerular filtration range of 15 to 89 mL/min/1.73 m² versus patients receiving standard therapy alone. The corresponding increase in life expectancy was predicted to be 1.7 years. In addition, the decrease in incidence of adverse clinical outcomes resulted in modeled quality-adjusted life year gains between 0.82 and 1.00. As a result of these gains, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were $8,280, $17,623, and $11,687 in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain, respectively, indicating cost-effectiveness at willingness-to-pay thresholds of $27,510 and $35,503 per quality-adjusted life year in the United Kingdom and in Germany and Spain, respectively.

"Our results show that dapagliflozin, added to standard therapy, is a cost-effective treatment option for CKD well below established willingness-to-pay thresholds in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, which manufactures dapagliflozin and funded the study.

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