OBJECTIVES

: Although the antipsychotic medications have been a cornerstone in treating schizophrenia for decades around the world, the orally disintegrating tablet (ODT) formulation of them is quite a new concept in China, for only four brand names exist in Chinese market, three of which were launched lately. The patients taking ODT has showed an improved adherence than patients taking the same medication in standard oral tablet (SOT) formulation, hence to experience better treating effectiveness. This study aimed to analyse the cost-effectiveness of aripiprazole in ODT form comparing aripiprazole in SOT form and olanzapine in SOT form in China.

METHODS

: A discrete event simulation model was built to represent the one-year progression of schizophrenia. On the entry, 100,000 entities for each arm were labelled fully adherent, partial adherent or non-adherent based on medication possession ratios, and then to experience events including relapse, adverse events, changing adherence level, and treatment switching and quitting. Parameters including adherence, medical costs and utility values were from literatures. The switching pattern was acquired through an interview with fifty-seven Chinese psychiatrists.

RESULTS

: The total annual costs per patient in aripiprazole-ODT arm, aripiprazole-SOT arm, and olanzapine-SOT arm, are CNY 9,817 (USD 1,388), CNY 15,278 (USD 2,160), and CNY 10,298 (USD 1,456), respectively. The annual quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained per patient in aripiprazole-ODT arm, aripiprazole-SOT arm, and olanzapine-SOT arm are 0.7282, 0.7112, and 0.7218, respectively. The probability of aripiprazole-ODT being cost-effective is 99.2 percent comparing aripiprazole-SOT and 69.2 percent comparing olanzapine-SOT, according to the probabilistic sensitivity analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

: The aripiprazole-ODT is associated with lower costs and more QALY gained compared with both aripiprazole-SOT and olanzapine-SOT in treating schizophrenia in China. The sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of aripiprazole-ODT being of better economic value than aripiprazole-SOT, while there is some uncertainty with the comparison between aripiprazole-ODT and olanzapine-SOT.