Costs per patient achieving remission with venetoclax-based combinations in newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia ineligible for intensive induction chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Venetoclax, in combination with azacitidine, decitabine, or low-dose cytarabine (LDAC), received confirmatory approval in 2020 by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patients aged 75 years or older or who are ineligible for intensive induction chemotherapy. The economic value associated with response to venetoclax combinations compared with other treatments for this patient population has not been comprehensively evaluated. OBJECTIVE: To assess the cost per patient achieving remission with venetoclax combination therapies, compared with other therapies for newly diagnosed patients with AML who are ineligible for intensive induction chemotherapy, from a US third-party payer perspective. METHODS: The analysis used treatment effect estimates (ie, complete remission [CR] + CR with incomplete blood count recovery [CRi]) from a network meta-analysis and annual cost estimates from a prior budget impact model. The model considered the total cost of care including the costs of drug and administration, adverse events, hospitalization, disease monitoring, blood transfusions, and subsequent AML management when patients discontinued active treatment. Costs per patient achieving CR + CRi associated with venetoclax + azacitidine, venetoclax + LDAC, azacitidine, decitabine, LDAC, and best supportive care (ie, treatment given with the intent to maximize quality of life without specific antileukemic intent, such as blood transfusion products and antibiotics) were calculated as the annual total cost of care per patient divided by the CR + CRi rate. All costs were adjusted to 2020 US dollars. RESULTS: Venetoclax combination therapies were estimated to have substantially lower costs per patient achieving CR + CRi (venetoclax + azacitidine: $473,960; venetoclax + LDAC: $428,071) than alternative treatments. Azacitidine was estimated to have the the highest cost per patient achieving CR + CRi ($1,197,438), followed by best supportive care ($869,849), LDAC ($689,101), and decitabine ($594,074). A pair-wise matrix of the difference between therapies estimated that both venetoclax + azacitidine and venetoclax + LDAC were associated with significantly lower costs per patient achieving CR + CRi than azacitidine (by $723,477 and $769,367, respectively) and LDAC (by $215,141 and $261,030; all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: From a US third-party payer perspective, venetoclax in combination with azacitidine or LDAC was estimated to be associated with a significantly lower cost per patient achieving CR + CRi than azacitidine or LDAC among newly diagnosed patients with AML ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. DISCLOSURES: This research was supported by AbbVie Inc. and Genentech. The sponsors helped design the study, interpret the data, and draft the manuscript. Drs Bui and Kapustyan are employees of and have equity ownership in AbbVie; Dr Choi was an employee of AbbVie during the study's conduct and has equity ownership. Ms Ma and Dr Montez are employees of and have equity ownership in Genentech. Drs Song and Chai, Ms Yin, and Dr Betts are employees of Analysis Group, Inc., which has received funding from AbbVie and Genentech for the conduct of this research. Dr LeBlanc reports personal fees for consulting or advisory boards from AbbVie, Agios/Servier, AstraZeneca, Amgen, Astellas, BlueNote, CareVive, BMS/Celgene, Daiichi-Sankyo, Flatiron, Genentech, GSK, Pfizer, and Seattle Genetics; royalties from UpToDate; speakers bureau fees from Agios/Servier, AbbVie, and BMS/Celgene; and grants and/or research contracts from the American Cancer Society, AstraZeneca, BMS, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and Seattle Genetics.

Budget Impact of 12-Month Fixed Treatment Duration Venetoclax in Combination with Obinutuzumab in Previously Untreated Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Patients in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the total cost of care (TCC) and budget impact of introducing 12-month fixed duration venetoclax + obinutuzumab (VEN+G) as first-line treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) from the perspective of a US health plan with 1,000,000 (1M) members. METHODS: The 3-year model included the following comparators: fludarabine + cyclophosphamide + rituximab (FCR), bendamustine + rituximab (BR), obinutuzumab + chlorambucil (GClb), ibrutinib (Ibr), and Ibr+Rituximab/obinutuzumab [Ibr+R/Ibr+G]). TCC included US-specific costs associated with treatment (i.e., drug, administration, and wastage), adverse events, routine care, and monitoring. Dosing and safety data were drawn from clinical trials and US package inserts. Budget impact outcomes were presented on an absolute and per-member per-month (PMPM) basis. Sensitivity analyses explored uncertainty in influential parameters, including scenarios testing the duration of treat-to-progression agents. RESULTS: Over the 3-year time horizon, introducing VEN+G in a 1M-member health plan resulted in total cost savings of $1,550,663 (PMPM - $0.04), compared to a scenario without VEN+G. The fixed 12-month duration of VEN+G contributed to this cost saving by reducing cumulative treatment costs compared with Ibr-based regimens. By year 3, the cumulative difference in TCC of VEN+G compared with Ibr, Ibr+G, and Ibr+R amounted to - $300,942, - $367,001, and - $369,784, respectively. Extensive sensitivity analyses supported the base case findings. CONCLUSIONS: Introducing VEN+G among first-line CLL treatments to a US health plan resulted in cost savings compared to a plan with chemoimmunotherapies and Ibr-based therapies only. Economic benefits of VEN+G, a novel agent with fixed treatment duration, coupled with proven clinical benefits should help inform formulary adoption decisions and treatment recommendations.