OBJECTIVES

: The cost of a new treatment relative to existing, conventional treatment for a given condition is an important aspect of cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA). In fact, differences in the cost of existing treatments from one market to another can lead to differences in the results of CEA across markets. This research examines sources of data for the cost of existing treatments in Japan and highlights how differences in the cost of local treatments in Japan can affect the results of CEA for Japan.

METHODS

: Recent CEA studies for Japan were reviewed including studies for novel pharmaceuticals interventions, medical device interventions, and procedural interventions. The impacts of the cost of existing local treatments in Japan relative to other markets on the results of the CEA studies for Japan were reviewed assuming similar measurements of effectiveness for each market.

RESULTS

: Differences in the cost of existing, conventional treatments in Japan were shown to contribute to differences in the results of CEA studies for Japan relative to similar studies conducted in other markets. For interventions where the cost of existing, conventional treatment is high in Japan relative to conventional treatment in other markets CEA results for Japan tended to be less favorable. For some interventions however, the cost of existing treatment in Japan tended to be lower contributing to more favorable CEA results for Japan.

CONCLUSIONS

: The results suggest that differences in the cost of existing treatments in local markets can have an impact on the results of CEA across markets. The impact is particularly higher for certain pharmaceutical interventions in Japan compared to procedural and medical device interventions.