Product Selection and Pharmaceutical Comparison of Two Anti-D Immune Globulins

Purpose: Two anti-D immunoglobulin (anti-D) products, Rhophylac and WinRho, have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura. There is a significant difference in acquisition cost—and perhaps in preparation cost—of the products. This time-and-motion study was designed to evaluate the difference in time and relevant costs required for preparation of a single dose of anti-D immunoglobulin using these 2 products.Methods: To evaluate the difference in time required for preparation of a single dose (3,600 mcg) of the 2 anti-D immunoglobulins for a patient weighing 72 kg, each product was prepared 9 times and the time for each preparation was recorded. The cost analysis was limited to comparison of the acquisition costs of both anti-D products and the incremental labor costs associated with their preparation.Results: The results showed that the average total time for 9 preparations of WinRho was 1 minute 30.1 seconds, with the assembly time c...