Healthcare Resource Utilization and Costs of Using Cariprazine as the First Versus Subsequent Adjunctive Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder

This work was sponsored by AbbVie Background: Adjunctive therapy with atypical antipsychotics may be an effective treatment option for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and inadequate response to antidepressant monotherapy. This study compared the mental health (MH)-related healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and costs of patients who initiated cariprazine as first versus subsequent adjunctive therapy after an initial MDD diagnosis. Methods: The MerativeTM MarketScan® Commercial Database (1/1/2015─6/30/2021) was used to identify adults diagnosed with MDD with ≥1 pharmacy claim for cariprazine as an adjunctive treatment to antidepressant therapy (date of first adjunctive therapy=index date). MH-related HRU and healthcare costs were assessed for patients initiating cariprazine as first or subsequent adjunctive therapy following the index date. HRU and healthcare costs were compared between cohorts using rate ratios (RR) and mean cost differences, respectively, calculated from multivariable regression models. Results: Of 838 included patients, 375 (44.7%) initiated cariprazine as first adjunctive therapy and 463 (55.3%) as subsequent adjunctive therapy. Patients using cariprazine as a first versus subsequent adjunctive treatment had 45% and 33% lower rates of MH-related hospitalizations (RR:0.55, P<.05 and="" outpatient="" visits="" p="" per="" patient-year="" respectively.="" patients="" using="" cariprazine="" as="" first="" adjunctive="" treatment="" also="" incurred="" lower="" total="" pharmacy="" mh-related="" healthcare="" costs="" patient="" year="" versus="" subsequent="" driven="" primarily="" by="" visit="" conclusions:="" these="" results="" suggest="" that="" whose="" therapy="" for="" mdd="" included="" had="" hru="" than="" a="" therapy.="">