Abstract
BACKGROUND: A sub-analysis of the Korean population in the LIBERTY ASTHMA QUEST trial (NCT02414854) revealed that dupilumab effectively treated severe uncontrolled asthma. This study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of add-on therapy with dupilumab to background therapy in patients ≥ 12 years of age with uncontrolled severe asthma compared to that of background therapy in South Korea. METHODS: The cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted using a Markov model over a lifetime from the Korean healthcare system perspective. Clinical efficacy and utility weights were obtained from post-hoc analyses of the Korean population in the QUEST trial. Data on the costs and treatment setting of exacerbation in a real-world setting were retrospectively collected using the administrative medical database from a single tertiary hospital. RESULTS: The base-case results indicated that add-on dupilumab therapy increases costs ($112,924 for add-on dupilumab versus $29,545 for background therapy alone). However, add-on dupilumab increased quality-adjusted life years (QALYs, 8.03 versus 3.93, respectively), with fewer events of severe exacerbations per patient compared to using the background therapy alone (17.920 versus 19.911, respectively). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $20,325 per QALY. Various sensitivity analyses supported the robustness of the base-case results. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that the probability of add-on dupilumab being cost-effective was 87% at a threshold willingness-to-pay of $26,718 (KRW 35 million) per QALY gained. CONCLUSIONS: Dupilumab is cost-effective for adolescents and adults with uncontrolled severe asthma in South Korea. Our study provides evidence to support clinicians and policymakers in making informed decisions for severe asthma management.