Researchers from the University of Arizona Cancer Center conducted simulation modeling of cost savings from conversion of pegfilgrastim to biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv for the prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia as well as expanded access to biosimilar prophylaxis.
Results of the modeling were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (May 29-31, 2020).
In an attempt to demonstrate the potential of biosimilars to reduce the cost of prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia, Ali McBride, PharmD, MS, BCOP, FASHP, FAzPA, and colleagues conducted a US comparative cost-efficiency analysis of prophylaxis with biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv over reference pegfilgrastim with or without on-body injector (PEG/PEG-OBI). Researchers also modeled budget-neutral expanded access to biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv from cost savings achieved from conversion from PEG/PEG-OBI. Then, they estimated the number-needed-to-convert to biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv from PEG/PEG-OBI to purchase one additional treatment of biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv.
Cost-savings per patient of biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv over PEG/PEG-OBI ranged from $223 for one cycle to $1335 for six cycles, researchers found. In a panel of 20,000 patients with cancer, savings ranged from $445,163 for one cycle of prophylaxis at 10% conversion to $26,709,788 for six cycles at 100% conversion.
Dr McBride and colleagues further noted that in a single cycle of chemotherapy, these savings translated into expanded access to prophylaxis with biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv ranging from 115 doses at 10% conversion from PEG/PEG-OBI to 1154 doses at 100% conversion. Savings over six cycles of chemotherapy, they added, could provide between 692 additional doses of biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv prophylaxis at 10% conversion and 6921 doses at 100% conversion.
The estimated number-needed-to-convert from PEG/PEG-OBI to purchase one additional dose of biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv was 18, researchers acknowledged.
“These models demonstrate that chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia prophylaxis with biosimilar pegfilgrastim-cbqv can generate significant cost savings that could be reallocated on a budget-neutral basis to provide more patients or more cycles with chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia prophylaxis,” authors of the study concluded.—Zachary Bessette
