The cost offsets and cost–effectiveness associated with pegylated drugs: a review of the literature

Abstract

Pegylation (PEG) is used as both a drug-delivery and a drug-modification technology in ten drugs approved by the US FDA. Benefits of PEG drugs can include increased plasma half-life, longer absorption, improved tumor targeting and less antigenicity and immunogenicity. Clinical benefits of PEG drugs over non-PEG drugs may include reduced administration, improved efficacy, improved tolerability, and decreased severity and incidence of adverse events. This study reviews 36 economic literature publications featuring PEG drugs versus non-PEG versions. PEG drugs showed some reductions in overall costs resulting from various offsets including fewer administrations, lower adverse event treatment costs, reduced disease complication costs or reduced inpatient/outpatient costs. Of the 18 cost–effectiveness studies reviewed, 17 of them found PEG drugs to be cost effective versus the non-PEG drugs. Cost offsets and cost–effectiveness of PEG drugs have been demonstrated in multiple studies across various therapies, indications and country settings, and the results have been found to be stable when key parameters were varied in analyses. Further studies are needed to assess the potential for cost savings and cost–effectiveness for new PEG therapies in development.

Keywords::

• cost
• cost–effectiveness
• cost offset
• economic
• pegylation/pegylated
• polyethylene glycol

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The development of this article was funded by Biogen Idec. LA White is an employee of Biogen Idec. C Dembek was an employee of Biogen Idec at the time of this research and owns Biogen Idec stock. R Becker is an employee of Russell Becker Consulting, who received funding from Biogen Idec and LP Garrison is an employee of the VeriTech Corporation, who received funding from Biogen Idec. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.