title: Economic implications of biological therapy for Crohn's disease.
abstract: In the early 90s American authors estimated that if a theoretical new drug was introduced that was capable of changing the natural course of the disease and reducing direct non-drug medical costs (including hospitalisation and surgery) by 20%, despite doubling the overall drugs bill, there would still be a reduction in total direct medical costs of Crohn's disease by 13%. Infliximab proved to be efficacious in reducing and maintaining remission in moderate to severe active Crohn's disease and/or fistulising Crohn's disease. A higher acquisition cost still remains its major limitation. Currently only the use of infliximab in case of treatment for flares seems to be cost-effective. However, this statement may be modified in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Paweł W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Petryszyn
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Leszek
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Paradowski
keywords: Crohn's disease; biological therapy; medical economics