Liraglutide Proves Cost-Effective for Patients with Diabetes, CVD Risk

Compared with standard of care alone, added liraglutide resulted in an additional 0.67 life-years in patients with type 2 diabetes at elevated cardiovascular risk with little to no budget impact, according to a study published online in ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research.

In the previous Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes: Evaluation of Cardiovascular Outcomes Results (LEADER) trial, liraglutide added to standard-of-care therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease (CVD) or elevated cardiovascular risk was linked with lower rates of death from CVD as well as nonfatal myocardial infarction and nonfatal stroke, researchers explained. They combined data from the LEADER trial with cost information to assess the budget impact of added liraglutide in the patient population over a lifetime horizon from a US managed care perspective.

According to the study, patients with type 2 diabetes and elevated cardiovascular risk who received added liraglutide experienced 6.3% fewer events and had event-related cost-savings of $15,182 compared with patients who received standard of care alone. With liraglutide, patients gained additional life-years of 0.67 and quality-adjusted life-years of 0.57, researchers reported, and had $60,928 in additional total costs.

“Liraglutide was cost-effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $106,749/quality-adjusted life-year, which was below the willingness-to-pay threshold of $150,000/quality-adjusted life-year accepted by the Institute of Clinical and Economic Research,” researchers wrote.

Per-plan-per-year cost savings were $266,334, according to the study, while per-member-per-month cost-savings were $0.02.

“From a US managed care perspective, for type 2 diabetes patients with established cardiovascular disease or elevated cardiovascular risk, liraglutide is a cost-effective and a budget neutral treatment option for health care plans,” researchers advised.— Jolynn Tumolo