Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: To quantify the societal and fiscal burden of inadequately controlled by H1-antihistamines CSU and to evaluate the potential costs and benefits of novel therapies. The symptoms of CSU affect patients’ physical and mental health and in combination with sleep impairment, caused by itch, affect work productivity hence, reducing patients’ productive output. Novel therapies reducing CSU’s burden may reverse negative changes in labor market outcomes thus yielding societal and fiscal gains.
METHODS: Health states related to CSU were linked to absenteeism, employment rates and wages using evidence from the literature. Age-specific epidemiology of CSU in Japan, by gender and severity, was translated into societal (loss of GDP from absenteeism and loss of earnings from reduced employment rates) and fiscal (tax revenue loss) burden. A previously published cost-effectiveness model was used to simulate the natural history of CSU patients treated either with biological agents or standard of care (SoC). Subsequently, the present value of novel treatment-induced societal and fiscal gains was compared with incremental costs to estimate benefit-cost ratios (BCRs). The time horizon was 10 years, and the discount rate 2%.
RESULTS: Compared to SoC, novel therapies result in per person incremental healthcare costs of ¥0.42 million, societal gains of ¥1.86 million and fiscal gains of ¥0.74 million. The resulting societal and fiscal BCRs were 4.5 and 1.8, respectively, suggesting high returns on investment (RoI).
CONCLUSIONS: Uncontrolled CSU negatively influences patients’ and economy’s productive output and may result in substantial losses for the Japanese government. Treating CSU may result in favorable societal and fiscal returns. Value of innovation extends beyond the healthcare service.