Comment on: ''Cost Effectiveness of Tiotropium in Patients with Asthma Poorly Controlled on Inhaled Glucocorticosteroids and Long-Acting [Beta]-Agonists'

• Published in: Applied health economics and health policy Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 117
• Main Authors: Samuelsen, Carl, Bateman, Eric D, Pavord, Ian, Lloyd, Adam, Baldwin, Mike, Esser, Dirk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Auckland Springer Nature B.V 01.02.2016
• Subjects: Asthma; Colleges & universities; Cost analysis; Drug dosages; Employees; Medicine; Pharmaceutical industry; Sensitivity analysis; Willingness to pay
• DOI: 10.1007/s40258-015-0215-0
• ISSN: 1175-5652

The re-analysis of study data using the revised transition matrices predicted that tiotropium add-on therapy reduced exacerbations and improved asthma control with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £28,383 (obtained at 2012 prices) per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained, which is within the commonly accepted £20,000-£30,000 per QALY gained willingness-to-pay threshold used in the UK [2]. The results of these additional sensitivity analyses show that tiotropium may be cost-effective when added to usual care in patients whose asthma remains uncontrolled despite treatment with high-dose ICS plus LABA, irrespective of the modelling method used, and so provides additional confidence that the conclusions presented in our published manuscript are valid.