Cost–utility analysis of sofosbuvir for the treatment of genotype 2 chronic hepatitis C in Japan

AbstractObjective: Across Japan, around 2 million people are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) with long-term complications such as cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver transplant (LT). Current treatment options have several limitations due to side effects, interferon intolerability and ineligibility, long treatment durations and low sustained virological responses (SVR) rates, especially for the most severe patients. Sofosbuvir (SOF) is the first nucleotide analog NS5B polymerase inhibitor with pan-genotypic activity. SOF, administered in combination with ribavirin (RBV) with or without pegylated interferon (PEGIFN) resulted in high SVR rates across genotype (GT) 1–6 patients. It is also the first available regimen for patients that are unsuitable for interferon. This analysis assessed the cost–utility ratio of sofosbuvir in GT2 patients in Japan.Research design and methods: A Markov model followed a cohort of 10,000 GT2 patients until patients reached 100 years of age. Approximately 2...