Cost Effectiveness of Netupitant/Palonosetron Combination in the Prophylaxis of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting

Analysis Methodology

The authors of this study used data from two pivotal phase III randomized controlled trials for cost-effectiveness analysis, comparing NEPA with palonosetron in CINV prophylaxis for cancer patients undergoing highly and moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. Complete response (CR) to treatment was defined as the absence of nausea and the absence of rescue medication use during the 120 hours post-chemotherapy (overall phase). The analysis included 1,720 patients.

Findings

Although the costs of prophylactic antiemetic treatment with NEPA were higher compared to palonosetron alone, the financial costs for achieving one CR were more than 10 times lower with NEPA. For patients undergoing highly emetogenic chemotherapy, the cost to achieve one CR was 1.24 euros with NEPA compared to 13.23 euros with palonosetron alone. For patients undergoing moderately emetogenic chemotherapy, the costs to achieve one CR were 1.49 euros with NEPA compared to 15.20 euros with palonosetron.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate that CINV prophylaxis with the combination of netupitant/palonosetron and dexamethasone is cost-effective for patients undergoing highly or moderately emetogenic chemotherapy.

(zza)

Source: Giuliani J., Bonetti A. Netupitant plus palonosetron is a cost-effective treatment for the prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in highly and moderately emetogenic cancer treatment. Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res 2019 Oct; 19 (5): 505−508, doi: 10.1080/14737167.2019.1650644.