OP0238 DRUG COST FOR BIOLOGIC AND TARGETED SYNTHETIC DMARDS FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS IN NORWAY FROM 2010 TO 2019 - A COUNTRY WITH A NATIONAL TENDER SYSTEM FOR DRUG PRESCRIPTION
Authors: A. Brkic, A. Diamantopoulos, G. Haugeberg
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2021)

Background: Biologic and Target Synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (BTSs) have caused a paradigm shift in the treatment of patients with inflammatory joint disorders, e.g., rheumatoid arthritis (RA), where remission is now attainable [1]. The high cost of BTSs has caused restrictions on use and prescription, contributing to inequality of care worldwide [2]. An annual tender system was introduced in 2008 in Norway to reduce the costs of these drugs [3]. Objectives: Explore changes in drug costs for BTSs for RA patients treated at Norwegian rheumatology outpatient clinics between 2010 and 2019. Methods: The project BioRheuma (BIOlogic treatment of patients suffering from inflammatory RHEUMAtic disorders in Norway) aimed to monitor patients treated with BTSs while using a designed computer program. Anonymized data files from the ten participating centers were merged and analyzed (EXCEL and SPSS). For each year in the ten-year period, the annual total cost for BTSs and mean BTS cost for treatment of one patient was calculated for all current BTSs users, for all those who started BTSs, and for patients starting naïve to BTSs. The cost was calculated based on price offers given at the annual tender process for the different years. Results: The number of registered RA patients in the databases increased from 4909 in 2010 to 9335 in 2019. Simultaneously, the number of patients treated with BTSs increased from 1959 (39.9%) in 2010 to 4209 (45.1%) in 2019. The total treatment expenditure of these BTS treated patients was lowest in 2010 with 226 million Norwegian Kroner (NOK), highest in 2014 (350 million NOK) treating 3448 patients, and second-lowest in 2019 (255 million NOK). The number of BTSs used for each year (Figure 1) is shown for all current users, all who started new BTSs treatment, and those starting BTSs naïve to BTSs. The same figure also reports the average cost of treating one RA patient with BTSs in these three groups. For the current users of BTSs, when the number of treated patients during follow-up doubled, the mean cost to treat one patient with BTSs was reduced by approximately 50% (decreasing from 115497 NOK in 2010 to 60701 NOK in 2019). The number of patients starting on BTSs approximately doubled, while keeping a steady small increase for the naïve patients to BTSs (382 in 2010 to 405 in 2019). The average starting treatment cost decreased from 114549 NOK in 2010 to 37384 NOK in 2019, and from 114987 NOK in 2010 to 28249 NOK in 2019, for patients starting on BTSs and for patients naïve to BTSs, respectively. Figure 1. A ten-year overview of treating RA patient with BTSs Conclusion: Our data shows that the average annual costs of treating a Norwegian RA patient on a current BTS, with a national tender system, were reduced by approximately 50% over the ten years 2010-19. For patients starting on a BTS, the average annual cost was reduced by approximately 75%. The consequence for the payers is that treatment can be offered at a lower price, and thus costly drugs may become more available for patients. We believe that mechanisms like the Norwegian tender system enforced upon the commercial pharmaceutical market improve competition and increase availability and use of costly drugs. References: [1]Smolen JS, et al. EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis with synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: 2019 update. Ann Rheum Dis 2020;79;685-99. [2]Bergstra SA, et al. Inequity in access to bDMARD care and how it influences disease outcomes across countries worldwide: results from the METEOR-registry. Ann Rheum Dis 2018;77:1413–20. [3]Norwegian Hospital Procurement. (Jan 2021). Available from: https://sykehusinnkjop.no . Acknowledgements: To all members of the BioRheuma project Disclosure of Interests: None declared