Cost-effectiveness analysis of a fixed-dose combination of indacaterol and glycopyrronium as maintenance treatment for COPD

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the long-acting beta-2 agonist (LABA)/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) dual bronchodilator indacaterol/glycopyrronium (IND/GLY) as a maintenance treatment for COPD patients from the perspective of health care payer in Taiwan.

Patients and methods

We adopted a patient-level simulation model, which included a cohort of COPD patients aged ≥40 years. The intervention used in the study was the treatment using IND/GLY, and comparators were tiotropium or salmeterol/fluticasone combination (SFC). Data related to the efficacy of drugs, incidence of exacerbation, and utility were obtained from clinical studies. Direct costs were estimated from claims data based on the severity of COPD. The cycle length was 6 months (to match forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV₁] data), and the time horizons included 1, 3, 5, 10 years, and lifetime. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to test the robustness of the model results. Costs were expressed in US dollars with a discount rate of 3.0%.

Results

Compared to tiotropium and SFC, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained of patients treated with IND/GLY were US$5,987 and US$14,990, respectively. One-way sensitivity analysis revealed that the improvement in FEV₁ provided by IND/GLY, the distribution of patients with regard to the severity of COPD, and acute exacerbation rate ratio were the key drivers behind cost-effectiveness. Adopting a willingness to pay of US$60,000 per QALY gained as the threshold, there was a 98.7% probability that IND/GLY was cost-effective compared to tiotropium. Similarly, there was a 99.9% probability that IND/GLY was cost-effective compared to SFC.

Conclusion

As a maintenance treatment for COPD, we consider the dual bronchodilator IND/GLY as a cost-effective strategy when compared to either tiotropium or SFC.

Keywords:

• COPD
• LABA/LAMA dual bronchodilator
• indacaterol/glycopyrronium
• maintenance therapy
• cost-effectiveness
• ICS/LABA combination

Supplementary material

Figure S1 One-way sensitivity analysis.

Note: (A) IND/GLY versus tiotropium and (B) IND/GLY versus SFC.

Abbreviations: FEV₁, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; GLY, glycopyrronium; ICER, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio; IND, indacaterol; QALY, quality-adjusted life year; SFC, salmeterol/fluticasone combination.

Acknowledgments

This study was sponsored by Novartis, Taiwan.

Author contributions

All the authors participated in the study design, data analysis, interpretation of the results, writing and reviewing of the manuscript, and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.