Economic assessment of Eltrombopag in the treatment of thrombocytopenia

OBJECTIVE: This study assesses the cost-effectiveness of eltrombopag in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related thrombocytopenia. METHODS: A Markov model was constructed on the basis of the clinical trials ENABLE 1 and ENABLE 2. Three alternatives were considered: scenario 1; treatment with eltrombopag in both the enabling phase and during antiviral therapy, as in the ENABLE trial design; scenario 2; no eltrombopag treatment and no antiviral therapy; scenario 3; no eltrombopag treatment and subsequent administration of a reduced dose of peg-IFN. RESULTS: Base case results demonstrate that scenario 1 is associated with a cost per QALY of €30,020.94 in comparison with scenario 2. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio reaches a value of €32,752.44 per QALY when scenario 1 is compared with scenario 3. CONCLUSION: The use of eltrombopag in HCV patients with thrombocytopenia is cost-effective as it leads to a reduction in disease progression and thus a drop in the number of patients with advanced liver disease.