Assessment of cost of innovation versus the value of health gains associated with treatment of chronic hepatitis C in the United States

Abstract

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Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) increases the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) while effective HCV treatment decreases the incidence of CKD

“…For this analysis, we excluded patients who had undergone HCV therapy before the index date. HCV treatments included three classes: 1) dual therapy, a combination therapy of interferon and ribavirin (interferon alpha, interferon beta, peg‐ interferon alpha‐2a or peg‐ interferon alpha‐2b with or without ribavirin); 2) triple therapy, a combination of boceprevir, telaprevir, sofosbuvir, or simeprevir plus peg‐interferon and ribavirin; and 3) all‐oral therapy, which included ledipasvir/sofosbuvir, sofosbuvir with ribavirin and ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir, and dasabuvir with or without ribavirin …”

The effect of interferon‐free regimens on health‐related quality of life in East Asian patients with chronic hepatitis C

“…Despite these major advances in the treatment of chronic HCV infection, DAAs are not universally available in all East Asian countries . In this context, it is important to note that the DAA‐based regimens have been associated with not only high efficacy and better tolerability, but also with significant improvement of HRQL and other PROs . In contrast, IFN‐containing regimens cause significant impairment of HRQL and PROs .…”

In an era of highly effective treatment, hepatitis C screening of the United States general population should be considered

“…There is substantial evidence that sustained viral eradication is durable and can be associated with improvement of clinical outcomes (lower rate of cirrhosis, HCC and mortality) and patient‐reported outcomes . Although expensive, these new regimens have been proven to be cost‐effective from a societal perspective in the USA …”