Annual Wasteful Spending on Lecanemab Estimated at $133 to $336 Million
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Oct. 18, 2024 -- Annual wasteful spending on discarded lecanemab is anticipated to range between $133 and $336 million, given current vial sizes, according to a research letter published online Oct. 14 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Noting that lecanemab dosing is weight-based and only available in 500- and 200-mg vials, Frank F. Zhou, from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles, and colleagues quantified the projected cost of discarded lecanemab in the U.S. Medicare program. Participants from the 2020 Health Retirement Study aged 65 years and older who were potentially eligible for lecanemab by having mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia were included; the required dose and most cost-efficient number of vials to provide that dose were determined for each patient.
A total of 1,490 participants were included, representing about 7.2 million eligible individuals. The researchers found that the current vial sizes could result in 5.8 percent of dispensed lecanemab being wasted among this population, representing 1.6 wasted doses and $1,619 of wasteful spending per patient per year. The total annual wasteful spending on discarded lecanemab would range between $133 and $336 million assuming lower and upper estimates of 1.1 and 2.9 percent drug uptake. In simulations of alternative vial sizes, adding a 75-mg vial would achieve the greatest reduction in waste (74 percent), representing annual savings of $99 million.
"We anticipate $133 million to $336 million in annual wasteful spending on discarded lecanemab in the Medicare population, which would rank lecanemab as the second or third costliest Medicare Part B drug in terms of waste," the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to Milliman MedInsight.
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted October 2024
Read this next
Gut Flora Differs in Patients With Epilepsy and Cognitive Dysfunction
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 16, 2024 -- There is an imbalance in the gut flora of patients with epilepsy compared with healthy controls, according to a study published online Sept. 28 in...
Wayfinding Task on Smartphone Can Detect Subjective Cognitive Decline
TUESDAY, Oct. 15, 2024 -- Subtle cognitive changes in patients with subjective cognitive decline can be identified using smartphone data collected during a wayfinding task...
Dronabinol Safe, Effective for Alzheimer Disease With Agitation
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 9, 2024 -- Dronabinol is safe and effective for the treatment of Alzheimer disease with agitation (Agit-AD), according to a study presented at the annual meeting...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.