Economic impact of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) biotherapies in France.

OBJECTIVE: Determining the economic impact of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) biotherapies in France. METHOD: The number of patients on RA biotherapy in France was estimated from the French national medical information system program (PMSI) database using the 2007 hospital data. The cost of each biotherapy was calculated on a theoretical basis (French national health authority (HAS) recommendations) and on real-life setting, using 'real-life' setting data. In order to calculate the economic impact of the biotherapies, the cost of management with each biotherapy was applied to the RA patient population taking into account the market share of each biotherapy. RESULTS: The number of patients with RA estimated was 15,873. Management costs ranged from 11,576 to 21,128 euro for the theoretical management scenario and from 6,451 to 19,618 euro for the real-life scenario. The overall cost was 222 million euro (real-life setting). TNF antagonists (adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab) were prescribed for 82% of the patient population and accounted for 80% of the annual overall cost of theoretical management and 84% of the cost of the real-life setting, respectively. Other biotherapies (abatacept, rituximab) were prescribed for 18% of the patients and accounted for 20 and 16% of the annual overall cost of the theoretical setting and real-life setting. Outpatient biotherapy was prescribed for 61% of the patient population and generated 68 and 71% of the total costs. CONCLUSION: The data constitutes an initial inventory of the economic impact of RA biotherapies in France.