Background:: Targeted systemic therapies, including abrocitinib, baricitinib, dupilumab, tralokinumab and upadacitinib, are new treatments for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD). We evaluated the efficacy and the costs of these targeted systemic therapies in the treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe AD.
Methods:: The clinical efficacy was assessed considering the results of a previous network meta-analysis (NMA). The analysis involved five therapies approved in Italy for the treatment of moderate to severe AD: abrocitinib (ABR), baricitinib (BAR), dupilumab (DUP), tralokinumab (TRA) and upadacitinib (UPA). According to the NMA, the cost of the treatment was based on the number of administrations dispensed at 16 weeks and the clinical efficacy was measured by the number needed to treat (NNT) compared to placebo using the improvement ≥ 75% (EASI-75) or ≥ 90 (EASI-90) from baseline of the eczema area and severity index (EASI). Only the ex-factory price of the targeted systemic therapies was considered. The cost per NNT was adopted as a cost-effectiveness indicator.
Results:: At 16 weeks, the cost per NNT based on EASI-75 was lower for UPA 15 mg (€ 6,384.00) compared to BAR 4 mg (€ 11,619.73) and 2 mg (€ 14,524.66), ABR 100 mg (€ 16,265.22), DUP 300 mg (€ 16,115.04) and TRA 300 mg (€ 31,710.24). UPA 15 (€ 8,512.00) also showed the lower cost per NNT based on EASI-90 at 16 weeks compared to BAR 4 mg (€ 14,788.75) and 2 mg (€ 20,862.70), ABR 100 mg (€ 25,922.69), DUP 300 mg (€ 25,992.00) and TRA 300 mg (€ 41,067.36).
Conclusions:: The findings show that upadacitinib is the most cost-effective option (cost per NNT) for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.