Cost and Effectiveness of the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C in Brazil: Real-World Data

Abstract

Objectives: To introduce and discuss the cost and effectiveness of using sofosbuvir, daclatasvir, and simeprevir antivirals, in combination or not with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, for the treatment of hepatitis C, as based on real-world data.

Methods: We analyzed the treatment and outcomes of 253 patients from a retrospective cohort held in a specialized assistance service in the municipality of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Regarding costs, we considered only the direct costs of the antiviral medications per unit (pills), according to the financial receipts of the public procurements. We calculated the total cost of treatment per individual and the cost per cure expressed in sustained virologic response (SVR).

Results: Most patients (66.8%) were carriers of the genotype 1 of hepatitis, and 92.9% reached the SVR. The average cost of the treatment for genotype-1 patients was $5,862.31 USD per patient and $6,310.34 for the cure; for genotype-3 patients, on the other hand, the cost was $5,144.27 per patient and $5,974.76 for the cure. The drugs purchasing cost was around 40% less than was estimated for the process of incorporating them into the public health system.

Conclusion: The results indicated that good rates of effectiveness were achieved with different combinations of the medicines. The costs of the medicines were still deemed too high for the Brazilian reality, however. Therefore the results contribute to support the formulation and review of public policies based on strong evidence and on real-world data for the treatment of hepatitis C.

Keywords: effectiveness of treatment; health technology assessment; hepatitis C; medicine costs; public policies.