OBJECTIVES: There is a plethora of adalimumab products available in Greece, including both the originator and several biosimilars. The introduction of a new high concentration adalimumab biosimilar (CT-P17), has the potential to minimize the costs of treatment in adalimumab-treated patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the costs associated with CT-P17 to other adalimumab products in Greece.

METHODS: A cost-minimization analysis (CMA) was developed to compare the costs of treating patients with CT-P17 compared to reference product and available adalimumab biosimilars, from Greek third-party payer (EOPYY) perspective. Due to the different amount of drug used for each indication, the CMA result shows a cost comparison in each indication over a one-year period. The cost of CT-P17 was compared to other adalimumab products including the originator and all available biosimilars. The treatment dose and administration schedule were used to calculate the total cost of a treatment for a five-year time horizon. Drug prices were obtained by the latest National Price bulletin.

RESULTS: The Drug Acquisition Cost (DAC) of CT-P17 was on average 39% lower compared to the DACs of adalimumab and its biosimilars. Annual relative cost reduction of CT-P17 vs. originator was 53.5% regardless of the indication. Greater absolute cost reduction was observed in Hidradenitis suppurativa (33,318€ over 5-year time horizon). Compared to other biosimilars, CT-P17 was the most cost-minimizing option with cost reduction ranging from 20.2% to 43.3% depending on the comparing biosimilar and indication.

CONCLUSIONS: The inclusion of CT-P17 as an alternative for the originator and other available biosimilars, is a cost-minimizing option from EOPYY perspective for the treatment of all adalimumab indications. Hence, the introduction of CT-P17 to the market has the potential to bring substantial savings to the Greek Healthcare System by reducing pharmaceutical costs of adalimumab-treated patients.