A recent study (LE Targownik, EI Benchimol, J Witt et al. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2019; 25: 1718-28) shows that direct health care costs are increased with anti-TNF therapy.

In this retrospective study using the Manitoba IBD Database, the authors examined the direct costs associated with anti-TNF therapy initiation in 928 patients (676 CD, 252 UC).  Only 84 subjects were <18 years.

Key findings:

• The median costs for health care in the year of anti-TNF initiation increased compared to prior year.  In year prior to initiation, median costs were $4698 for CD and $6364 for UC; in the first year of anti-TNF treatment, costs rose to $39,749 and $49,327 respectively.
• Costs remained elevated through 5 years of anti-TNF therapy for continuous users with total median of $210,956 and $245,260 respectively
• There were reductions in non-drug costs. Inpatient and outpatient costs decreased in the year after anti-TNF initiation by 12% and 7% respectively, when excluding the costs of anti-TNFs.  These observed savings are considerably less than the medication expenditures.

Discussion:

• Costs for medications are likely to improve with the introduction of biosimilars.  Currently these are being used mainly in persons with a new diagnosis due to reticence to switch from originator product in established patients.
• The authors note that costs were overall higher with infliximab (IFX) than adalimumab (ADA) though “it is possible that patients with higher-severity disease are channeled toward IFX over ADA.”
• Indirect costs like ability to go to work and achieve educational potential could offset some of the direct costs.  In a prior study in the U.S., ADA treatment was estimated to reduce indirect costs of “nearly $11,000 per person treated.”

Limitations:

• Some costs were not measured in the study including emergency room visits, over the counter medications and alternative health care use.
• This was not a randomized study; thus, it is impossible to know what costs of persons with similar disease who were untreated would have been.

My take: This study shows that saving money is not the main reason to use anti-TNF therapies; rather, their effects on improved health and fewer complications.

Related blog posts:

• Do Anti-TNF Agents Reduce Surgeries and Hospitalizations?
• Top Anti-TNF for Ulcerative Colitis
• Gold Medal Winner: Infliximab (in the anti-TNF category) this post initially was during 2016 Olympics
• Comparing Biologics for Ulcerative Colitis | gutsandgrowth
• Head-to-Head: Nutritional Therapy versus Biological … – gutsandgrowth
• Adalimumab for children with Crohn’s disease | gutsandgrowth
• Should All Pediatric Patients with Crohn’s Disease … – gutsandgrowth
• What is Your Infliximab Adherence Rate? | gutsandgrowth
• Changes in the Use of IBD Biologic Therapy

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