Publications

Biologics are used to treat several inflammatory diseases, including RA, PsO, PsA, and AS; however, the cost of biologic therapies is high compared to non-biologic DMARDs. By using evidence-based assessment of comparative costs between biologics, healthcare resources can be properly allocated. This study used medical and pharmacy claims data to assess the utilitisation and cost of biologic treatment for RA, PsO, PsA, and AS. ETN (45%), ADA (32%), and INF (9%) were the most common medications and the most common patient indications were RA only (47%), PsO only (25%), and PsA only (9%). Of these three medications, etanercept has the lowest annual cost. There was considerable variability across the cost of biologics between medications, indications, and new or continued biologic use. Patients new to biologic therapy generally experienced lower costs; however, of the medications approved for all four inflammatory diseases, etanercept showed the lowest annual cost.