MAXIMUM COST-EFFECTIVE PRICE OF SERPLULIMAB FOR FIRST-LINE EXTENSIVE-STAGE SMALL-CELL LUNG CANCER: A THRESHOLD ANALYSIS FOR THE PERUVIAN PRIVATE HEALTH SYSTEM
Author(s)
Thaís Montezuma, PhD1, Martin J. Downes, PhD2, Tania Patricia Saavedra, MD3, Andres Felipe Patino, MSc3, Kyoo Kim, MSc4.
1School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Brisbane, Australia, 2School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Nathan, Australia, 3Abbott Products Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil, 4Abbott Products Operations AG, Allschwil, Switzerland.
1School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Brisbane, Australia, 2School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Nathan, Australia, 3Abbott Products Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil, 4Abbott Products Operations AG, Allschwil, Switzerland.
OBJECTIVES: The Peruvian private health system recommends immunochemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). Serplulimab combined with chemotherapy has emerged as a potential therapy to improve survival. However, the serplulimab-related cost still requires further assessment for inclusion in the health system. We aimed to estimate the maximum cost-effective price of serplulimab across different willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds.
METHODS: A partitioned survival analysis was developed over a 10-year time horizon to compare costs and benefits between serplulimab plus chemotherapy and recommended immunochemotherapies (atezolizumab plus chemotherapy and durvalumab plus chemotherapy). Direct medical costs from the private-payer perspective were included, and the outcome of interest was quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). In the absence of an established private-sector threshold, WTP values ranging from one to three times Peruvian GDP per capita were evaluated.
RESULTS: Threshold analysis demonstrated that serplulimab plus chemotherapy remained cost-effective across a range of willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds. Using 1, 2, and 3 times GDP per capita as WTP benchmarks, the maximum cost-effective price per vial (100 mg/10 ml) of serplulimab, compared with atezolizumab plus chemotherapy, was S/7,854, S/8,211, and S/8,567, respectively. At these thresholds, serplulimab plus chemotherapy also produced incremental QALY gains over atezolizumab (0.244 QALYs). Furthermore, across all evaluated WTP thresholds, serplulimab plus chemotherapy was dominant versus durvalumab plus chemotherapy, delivering higher QALYs (incremental QALY: 0.233) at lower total costs.
CONCLUSIONS: This threshold analysis establishes clear, decision-relevant price benchmarks for serplulimab in first-line ES-SCLC within the Peruvian private healthcare system. By identifying the upper bounds of cost-effectiveness, the findings provide a strong quantitative foundation for pricing and reimbursement strategies, indicating that appropriately negotiated pricing could position serplulimab plus chemotherapy as a high-value, economically viable standard of care.
METHODS: A partitioned survival analysis was developed over a 10-year time horizon to compare costs and benefits between serplulimab plus chemotherapy and recommended immunochemotherapies (atezolizumab plus chemotherapy and durvalumab plus chemotherapy). Direct medical costs from the private-payer perspective were included, and the outcome of interest was quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). In the absence of an established private-sector threshold, WTP values ranging from one to three times Peruvian GDP per capita were evaluated.
RESULTS: Threshold analysis demonstrated that serplulimab plus chemotherapy remained cost-effective across a range of willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds. Using 1, 2, and 3 times GDP per capita as WTP benchmarks, the maximum cost-effective price per vial (100 mg/10 ml) of serplulimab, compared with atezolizumab plus chemotherapy, was S/7,854, S/8,211, and S/8,567, respectively. At these thresholds, serplulimab plus chemotherapy also produced incremental QALY gains over atezolizumab (0.244 QALYs). Furthermore, across all evaluated WTP thresholds, serplulimab plus chemotherapy was dominant versus durvalumab plus chemotherapy, delivering higher QALYs (incremental QALY: 0.233) at lower total costs.
CONCLUSIONS: This threshold analysis establishes clear, decision-relevant price benchmarks for serplulimab in first-line ES-SCLC within the Peruvian private healthcare system. By identifying the upper bounds of cost-effectiveness, the findings provide a strong quantitative foundation for pricing and reimbursement strategies, indicating that appropriately negotiated pricing could position serplulimab plus chemotherapy as a high-value, economically viable standard of care.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
EE401
Topic
Economic Evaluation
Topic Subcategory
Budget Impact Analysis
Disease
Oncology