More Haemate-P use could mean big cost savings for Spain: Study
Fewer vials needed compared with rival VWD treatments
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Increasing the use of Haemate-P to treat von Willebrand disease (VWD) could yield substantial savings for the healthcare system in Spain, a study found.
The study, “Budget impact analysis of Haemate-P as long-term prophylaxis and on-demand therapy for von Willebrand disease in Spain,” was published in the Journal of Medical Economics. The work was funded by CSL Behring, the company that markets Haemate-P, which is sold under the brand name Humate-P in the U.S.
VWD is a bleeding disorder marked by a deficiency in a clotting protein called von Willebrand factor (VWF). Without VWF, the blood cannot clot properly, leading to symptoms like excessive bleeding.
Treatment for VWD often involves replacement therapies that deliver a working version of the VWF protein into the body. These treatments may be given as long-term prophylaxis to prevent or reduce bleeding frequency, or on demand to treat bleeds as they occur. Three such therapies are widely in use in Spain: Haemate-P, Fanhdi, and Wilate.
Model shows €5.64 million savings over three years
A team led by scientists at CSL constructed two mathematical models to estimate the total cost of these VWD treatments for the healthcare system in Spain. The models accounted for factors like the number of VWD patients taking each treatment, the cost of the treatments, estimates of how frequently each therapy would need to be administered, and estimates of how often patients would experience hospitalizations due to bleeding.
“The increased use of Haemate-P resulted in substantial estimated cost savings,” the researchers wrote.
In one model, the researchers attempted to accurately capture the current situation in Spain to estimate costs over the course of three years. In the other model, they looked at what would happen to overall costs if the percentage of patients taking Haemate-P increased from 36% to 43% over three years, with a corresponding decrease in use of the other two therapies.
They evaluated the potential budget impact for the national healthcare system based on increasing the use of Haemate-P for both long-term prophylaxis and on-demand treatment of VWD.
In the model where Haemate-P use increased, overall healthcare costs were reduced by €5.64 million (about $6.57 million) over three years. This was mainly driven by a reduction in bleed rates with Haemate-P and by the need for less product to be used to control bleeds.
Haemate-P, Fanhdi, and Wilate all contain VWF in combination with another clotting protein called factor VIII (FVIII). But the ratio of VWF to FVIII is highest in Haemate, so fewer medication vials are needed to increase VWF protein levels compared with the other two therapies.
“This analysis suggests that increasing the use of Haemate-P to replace the use of Wilate and Fanhdi in [long-term prophylaxis] or [on-demand treatment] will result in cost savings to the healthcare system,” the researchers wrote.
The investigators noted that their analysis has several limitations. These included the fact that they used the list price of each therapy, which may be different from privately-negotiated prices, and that the models included many estimations based on clinical trial data, which are imperfect replicas for real-world medical settings.
