Costs Similar Among Multiple Myeloma Patients Treated With Kyprolis vs Pomalyst
According to recent research presented at the 2016 ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, multiple myeloma treatment costs are not significantly different when using Kyprolis (carfilzomib; Amgen) compared to treatment with Pomalyst (pomalidomide; Celgene).
The researchers stated that the objective of their study was to “compare health resource utilization and costs among patients receiving monotherapy with [Kyprolis] or [Pomalyst] plus dexamethasone as second or subsequent treatment for multiple myeloma in the United States using a health insurance claims database.”
“A recent retrospective study compared health care outcomes and costs in patients with multiple myeloma receiving [Kyprolis] or [Pomalyst] using health insurance claims data and reported that [Kyprolis] patients had higher healthcare costs than [Pomalyst] patients,” Sumeet Panjabi, PhD, lead study author, of Amgen Inc, said in a presentation. “The results of this analysis have not been confirmed by other investigators.”
The researchers conducted a retrospective, observational study of patients with multiple myeloma using data from MarketScan. They tracked medical and pharmacy claims for multiple myeloma treatments and chemotherapy .
Study results showed that patients receiving second- or subsequent-line treatment with Kyprolis did not incur significantly different health resource utilization and costs compared to patients who received Pomalyst. They found that total monthly health care costs for Kyprolis were $17,321 compared to $19,776 with Pomalyst (P = .52).
They researchers noted that the cost of mean monthly visits and costs for treatment administration were higher for Kyprolis; however, there were no other statistically significant cost differences between the two treatment groups.
Dr Panjabi and colleagues concluded that “to avoid potential bias, treatment comparisons using real-world evidence require consideration of patient characteristics that may influence treatment choices and outcomes.”
This study received funding from Amgen Inc. —David Costill
