Tafamidis 61 mg Patient Characteristics and Persistency? A Retrospective Analysis of German Statutory Health Insurance Data (IQVIA™ LRx)

Cardiol Ther. 2024 Jun;13(2):369-378. doi: 10.1007/s40119-024-00365-6. Epub 2024 Apr 13.

Abstract

Introduction: Tafamidis is the first drug approved by the European Commission for the treatment of wild-type or hereditary transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) in adults to reduce cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular-related hospitalization. Real-world treatment patterns of tafamidis 61 mg in Germany are not well studied in patients with ATTR-CM.

Methods: This was a non-interventional, retrospective, observational cohort study of adult patients in Germany based on the IQVIA pharmacy claims database (IQVIA™ LRx). Patients included in the analysis were statutory insured and received at least one prescription of tafamidis 61 mg between March 1, 2020 and August 31, 2022. Treatment adherence was analyzed using the modified medical possession ratio (mMPR) and proportion of days covered (PDC).

Results: Overall, 1565 adult patients received at least one tafamidis prescription in the study period. Their mean age was 78.3 years, 82.4% were male, and 23.2% were treated by a cardiologist. Persistency rates for patients treated with tafamidis 61 mg were high: 78.0% for 12 months and 65.1% for 24 months after treatment initiation. Patients also had high adherence rate on filling their prescriptions on time: 94.6% and 90.5% of patients had adherence rates of at least 80%, measured by mMPR and PDC, respectively.

Conclusions: In the IQVIA™ LRx database, patients prescribed tafamidis 61 mg in Germany displayed high adherence and persistency rates, which suggest good drug tolerability and ease of use.

Keywords: ATTR-CM; Adherence; Persistence; Tafamidis.