COST OF ILLNESS OF SECONDARY PROGRESSIVE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS IN SAUDI ARABIA: A PUBLIC PAYER AND SOCIETAL PERSPECTIVE
Author(s)
Hana Abdullah Alabdulkarim, BSc, MSc, PhD1, Fahad Aldosari, PharmD2, Abdullah Alshehry, PharmD, MBA, BCPS3, Amal BinDos, RPh,MHHA3, Abdulrahman Al Turaiki, B.Sc Pharm, SSC-PhP-IMP, BCPS , BCACP1, Ahmad Althobaiti, MD2, Ahmad Abulaban, MBBS,SBN,MSCS,CRND,ABCN, ABEM, FAAN1, Seraj Makkawi, MBBS, MSc, FRCPC, FAAN4, Ahmad Almutlaq, MBBS, FRCPC3, Yasser Alamri, MD5, Yasser Albarkah, BSc, MSc, PhD6, Ibtisam H. Alharbi, PharmD, MSc7, Sultan Al Mubarki, BPharm, Msc, SBIMP8, Aseel Alzahrani, PharmD9, Muhannad Alharbi, MSc10, Wedad Alnemari, MSc, Pharm.D11.
1Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 3King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 4King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 5King Salman bin Abdulaziz Medical City, Madinah, Saudi Arabia, 6Ministry of Defense Health Services, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 7Ministry of Defense Health Services, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 8King Fahad Central Hospital, Jazan, Saudi Arabia, 9HEPA Solutions, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 10HEPA Solutions, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 11Sanofi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
1Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 3King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 4King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 5King Salman bin Abdulaziz Medical City, Madinah, Saudi Arabia, 6Ministry of Defense Health Services, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 7Ministry of Defense Health Services, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 8King Fahad Central Hospital, Jazan, Saudi Arabia, 9HEPA Solutions, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 10HEPA Solutions, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 11Sanofi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the economic burden of SPMS and SPMS without relapses in Saudi Arabia from public payer and societal perspectives, including direct medical, direct non‑medical, and indirect productivity‑related costs.
METHODS: A prevalence‑based cost‑of‑illness model was developed for Saudi nationals aged 20-64 years using national demographic data and published epidemiology, supplemented by structured expert validation. The SPMS population was 1,805 patients, comprising 677 active SPMS and 1,128 SPMS without relapses. Direct costs included pharmacotherapy, diagnostic and follow‑up testing, medical resource utilization, relapse and complication management, comorbidity management, non‑pharmacological care, and direct non‑medical items (transport, home‑based and supportive services). Drug acquisition costs were sourced from Saudi Food and Drug Authority price listings and national unified tender data, while unit costs for medical services were obtained from public medical centers and Ministry of Health business centers. Indirect costs were estimated from a societal perspective using the human capital approach, incorporating absenteeism, presenteeism, caregiver productivity loss, and national wage statistics.
RESULTS: Annual per‑patient total costs were SAR 162,483 for SPMS (SAR 128,347 direct; SAR 34,136 indirect) and SAR 131,352 for SPMS without relapses (SAR 87,734 direct; SAR 43,618 indirect). Over 5 years, the total MS burden was SAR 6.9 billion, including SAR 812,416 and SAR 656,758 per patient and SAR 741.1 million and SAR 550.0 million at the national level for SPMS and SPMS without relapses, respectively, with drug acquisition as the largest direct cost component and productivity‑related losses rising with disease severity.
CONCLUSIONS: SPMS and SPMS without relapses impose a marked economic, clinical, and humanistic burden in Saudi Arabia, driven by high treatment costs and substantial productivity losses. In the absence of approved therapies for this population, targeted and effective interventions that delay disability progression, optimize SPMS care pathways, and sustain work participation may deliver significant economic and societal gains.
METHODS: A prevalence‑based cost‑of‑illness model was developed for Saudi nationals aged 20-64 years using national demographic data and published epidemiology, supplemented by structured expert validation. The SPMS population was 1,805 patients, comprising 677 active SPMS and 1,128 SPMS without relapses. Direct costs included pharmacotherapy, diagnostic and follow‑up testing, medical resource utilization, relapse and complication management, comorbidity management, non‑pharmacological care, and direct non‑medical items (transport, home‑based and supportive services). Drug acquisition costs were sourced from Saudi Food and Drug Authority price listings and national unified tender data, while unit costs for medical services were obtained from public medical centers and Ministry of Health business centers. Indirect costs were estimated from a societal perspective using the human capital approach, incorporating absenteeism, presenteeism, caregiver productivity loss, and national wage statistics.
RESULTS: Annual per‑patient total costs were SAR 162,483 for SPMS (SAR 128,347 direct; SAR 34,136 indirect) and SAR 131,352 for SPMS without relapses (SAR 87,734 direct; SAR 43,618 indirect). Over 5 years, the total MS burden was SAR 6.9 billion, including SAR 812,416 and SAR 656,758 per patient and SAR 741.1 million and SAR 550.0 million at the national level for SPMS and SPMS without relapses, respectively, with drug acquisition as the largest direct cost component and productivity‑related losses rising with disease severity.
CONCLUSIONS: SPMS and SPMS without relapses impose a marked economic, clinical, and humanistic burden in Saudi Arabia, driven by high treatment costs and substantial productivity losses. In the absence of approved therapies for this population, targeted and effective interventions that delay disability progression, optimize SPMS care pathways, and sustain work participation may deliver significant economic and societal gains.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
EE664
Topic
Economic Evaluation, Health Technology Assessment, Real World Data & Information Systems
Topic Subcategory
Cost/Cost of Illness/Resource Use Studies
Disease
Neurological Disorders, No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas