Cost-effectiveness analysis of simeprevir in combination with peginterferon and ribavirin for treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 patients in Japan.

AbstractAim:Simeprevir (SMV), a protease inhibitor, recently became available for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) genotype 1 patients in Japan. The introduction of triple therapy using SMV in combination with peginterferon and ribavirin (PR) significantly improves the cure rate. The aim was to assess the cost-effectiveness of SMV with PR (SMV/PR) compared to telaprevir with PR (TVR/PR), PR alone, or no treatment in treatment-naive patients in Japan.Methods:A Markov model was developed to reflect the natural disease progression of HCV and to estimate the average life years and lifetime healthcare costs per patient. Sustained virologic response rates were obtained from a network meta-analysis including randomized clinical trials conducted in Japan. Patient baseline characteristics, HCV progression rates, mortality, medical resource utilization, and unit costs were obtained from Japanese sources. Outcomes were reported as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios as well as incremental cost and life y...