Here are seven things to know about the cost of treating and curing HCV, according to a consultantlive report.
• Sofosbuvir, manufactured by Gilead Sciences, has been hailed as a breakthrough treatment. A 12-week course of the drug costs approximately $84,000.
• Including the cost of other drugs, such as ribavirin, the cost per treatment of HCV exceeds $150,000.
• Interventions that cost less than $50,000 to $100,000 per quality-adjusted life year saved (QALY) are generally accepted as cost-effective.
• A 48-week regimen of pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin, or a regimen of pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin and adding telaprevir in the case of no virologic response, is considered cost-effective at $27,000 and $37,500 per QALY, respectively.
• Initiating triple therapy with telaprevir plus pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin is not considered cost-effective, at $1.24 million per QALY.
• Adding boceprevir to a of pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin regimen is considered cost-effective at $21,000 to $59,000 per QALY.
• A 24-week regimen of sofosbuvir plus ribavirin cost $17,000 per QALY, while a 12-week regimen of sofosbuvir plus simeprevir cost $11,000 per QALY.
The report concluded that these studies suggest that treating HCV with direct acting agent-based regimens, a newer and more expensive strategy, can be a cost-effective approach.
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