The efficacy of biologics in psoriasis treatment is clinically proven; however, biologics are expensive. In this study, we assessed the real-world cost-effectiveness of biologics for psoriasis treatment by evaluating the relationship between biologic drug survival (DS) and total medical-treatment costs from a pharmacoeconomic viewpoint. Furthermore, the effects of patient factors on cost-effectiveness were investigated. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 135 cases who received either a tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) monoclonal antibody (TNF-mab), interleukin (IL)-17 mab, or IL23p19-mab for psoriasis from January 2010 to June 2020 at Yamaguchi University Hospital. We compared the monthly medical-treatment costs according to biologic classification and found that costs of medical services, tests, and external preparations required for the treatment process were significantly higher in the TNF-mab group than in the other groups, and the total medical costs associated with TNF-mab treatment were significantly higher than those of IL17-mab treatment. The total monthly cost of medical care was lower in the long-term DS group than in the short-term group. The number of prescriptions for external preparations, comprising Vitamin D3 and corticosteroid, was significantly higher in the long-term DS group than in the short-term group; in the TNF-mab group, the proportion of patients without smoking habits was significantly higher in the long-term group as well. Our study indicated that when costly biologics are used for psoriasis treatment, the maintenance of long-term DS and appropriate patient guidance might improve the quality of medical care, thus allowing cost-effective medical care.
Keywords: biologics; cost-effectiveness analysis; drug survival; pharmacoeconomics; psoriasis.
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