She Hui Tan, Louise Gek Huang Goh, Benjamin Shao Kiat Ong, Darren Sze Guan Ng, Liang Lin, Raymond Chee Hui Ng, Bernard Yu-Hor Thong, Kwong Ng
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Healthcare sustainability is a global challenge. Various value-driven healthcare strategies have been implemented by Singapore's national health technology assessment (HTA) agency, the Agency for Care Effectiveness (ACE). Considering the high and growing expenditure on biologics, strategies have been implemented to drive the use of biosimilars. As Singapore has reached the 5-year mark since the subsidy listing of the first monoclonal antibody biosimilar infliximab, this review aimed to evaluate the impact of these strategies on the changes in adoption rates, utilisation, spending and cost savings for biosimilars in the public healthcare sector.
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using aggregated drug utilisation data from all public healthcare institutions. Five monoclonal antibodies with biosimilars, namely infliximab, adalimumab, trastuzumab, rituximab and bevacizumab, were included in this study. The outcomes evaluated were the monthly trends for utilisation volume, proportion attributed to biosimilar use, and drug spending up to December 2022. The simulated cost savings associated with biosimilar adoption were also reported.
Results: After subsidy implementation, an upward trend in biosimilar use and proportion attributed to biosimilar adoption was observed, while spending reduced substantially. The adoption rate of most biosimilars reached more than 95% within 1 year of listing. Drugs with more than one approved biosimilar brand at the time of subsidy listing reported substantial price reductions of over 80%. Overall, spending for the five monoclonal antibodies have significantly reduced after biosimilar subsidy listing, with an estimated cumulative cost savings of $136 million over 5 years.
Conclusion: Value-driven healthcare strategies implemented in Singapore's public healthcare institutions have contributed to high adoption rates of biosimilars and have improved affordable access through lower treatment costs. This in turn has led to significant cost savings to the healthcare system.
期刊介绍:
PharmacoEconomics - Open focuses on applied research on the economic implications and health outcomes associated with drugs, devices and other healthcare interventions. The journal includes, but is not limited to, the following research areas:Economic analysis of healthcare interventionsHealth outcomes researchCost-of-illness studiesQuality-of-life studiesAdditional digital features (including animated abstracts, video abstracts, slide decks, audio slides, instructional videos, infographics, podcasts and animations) can be published with articles; these are designed to increase the visibility, readership and educational value of the journal’s content. In addition, articles published in PharmacoEconomics -Open may be accompanied by plain language summaries to assist readers who have some knowledge of, but not in-depth expertise in, the area to understand important medical advances.All manuscripts are subject to peer review by international experts. Letters to the Editor are welcomed and will be considered for publication.