Introduction: Dupilumab is a recombinant human IgG4 monoclonal antibody that inhibits IL-4 and IL-13 signaling. This drug raises concerns about the economic impact in scenarios with constrained resources. This study aimed to estimate the cost-utility of dupilumab plus standard care (SoC) vs SoC alone in adolescents and adults with severe asthma and eosinophilic phenotype.
Methods: A probabilistic Markov model was created to estimate the cost and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) of patients with uncontrolled allergic asthma in Colombia. Total costs and QALYs of standard therapy (ICS + LABA), add-on therapy with dupilumab, were calculated over a lifetime horizon. Multiple sensitivity analyses were conducted. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated at a willingness-to-pay (WTP) value of $19,000.
Results: The base-case analysis showed dupilumab was associated with higher annual annual per-patient costs (US$5,719 for dupilumab and US$1,214 for standard therapy) and higher QALYs than standard therapy (fe 4.06 QALYs vs 3.97 QALYs, respectively). . The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio estimated was US$50,160 per QALY gained.
Conclusion: Dupilumab is not cost-effective using a WTP of US$19000 per QALY threshold in Colombia. Our study provides evidence that should be used by decision-makers to improve clinical practice guidelines and should be replicated to validate their results in other middle-income countries.
Keywords: Health economics; healthcare; public health.