title: Cost effectiveness of leflunomide in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in Japan.
abstract: Macro-level economic evaluations of drugs are expected to provide useful information for making the decision of whether to approve a newly developed drug as a first-line treatment. Leflunomide has been hoped to be an alternative to existing disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, but has also raised questions about its cost effectiveness due to the high drug cost and high percentage of withdrawals due to adverse events. A method of cost-effective analysis using disability-adjusted life years, which makes it possible to assess the cost effectiveness of a drug at the macro level, is proposed. Using the proposed method, the cost effectiveness of leflunomide in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in Japan is determined.
authors.affiliation: St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, 2-16-1 Sugao, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 216-8511, Japan. suka@marianna-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Machi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suka
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshida