Pharmacoeconomics of adalimumab for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's disease.
Adalimumab is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits TNF, an osteogenic cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of chronic, disabling inflammatory diseases. Adalimumab is indicated for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's disease. It alleviates the symptoms of these diseases, prevents disease progression in some patients and, in the case of Crohn's disease, induces and maintains remission. Compared with traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs that offer significantly less benefit, adalimumab is much more costly. However, most studies to date demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of adalimumab treatment. Cost-effectiveness data for newer indications of adalimumab, including ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's disease, are needed. As longer term data for adalimumab become available, the cost-effectiveness data will have greater precision.
Centre for Prognosis Studies in The Rheumatic Diseases, University Health Network, Toronto Western Hospital, 399 Bathurst St. 1E-410B, Toronto, ON M5T 2S8, Canada. dafna.gladman@utoronto.ca.
Dafna D
DD
Gladman
Ruth E
RE
Brown