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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Headache and Neurogenic Pain
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1411576
This article is part of the Research Topic Expanding the Paradigm of the Management of Headaches: Integrated Multidisciplinary Perspectives from Bench to Bedside View all 6 articles

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Rimegepant for On-demand Acute Treatment of Migraine in China

Provisionally accepted
Shuo Tian Shuo Tian 1Yuping Yang Yuping Yang 2Sheng-Lan Tan Sheng-Lan Tan 3Jiani Luo Jiani Luo 4*Chuanyu Yang Chuanyu Yang 5*Qiao Liu Qiao Liu 3*Yujin Guo Yujin Guo 1*
  • 1 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jining First People's Hospital, Jining, China
  • 2 Department of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Zhuzhou Hospital Xiangya Medical College CSU, Zhuzhou, China
  • 3 Department of Pharmacy, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
  • 4 College of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
  • 5 Department of Pharmacy, Tongren People's Hospital, Tongren, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Purpose: This study assesses the cost-effectiveness of rimegepant for the on-demand acute treatment of migraine in the Chinese population, focusing on headache relief within a 2-hour timeframe. Utilizing data from Phase III clinical trials on rimegepant involving Asian populations, this analysis aims to provide essential insights for healthcare decision-making in the context of migraine management in China. Patients and methods: Employing a decision tree model, this research evaluates the cost-effectiveness of rimegepant over a concise 2-hour period, exclusively considering its direct market price of 219.00 CNY per dose for on-demand, single-use treatment upon approval in China. This model is based on pain relief outcomes from a clinical trial, categorizing health outcomes by the achievement of pain freedom and alleviation from the most bothersome symptom within two hours post-administration. Results: The study unveils that rimegepant adds 0.0018 quality-adjusted life days (QALD) with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of 122,166.07 CNY/QALD. Against a daily cost-effectiveness threshold derived from the 2023 per capita GDP of China (734.45 CNY/day), rimegepant falls short of proving its cost-effectiveness. A significant price reduction to approximately 1.32 CNY per dose is required for rimegepant to be considered cost-effective within this framework. Furthermore, a series of sensitivity analyses were conducted to validate the robustness of these results. Conclusion: While rimegepant shows clinical efficacy in providing rapid relief from migraine symptoms, its current pricing exceeds the threshold for cost-effectiveness in the Chinese healthcare setting. This study underscores the need for price adjustments to enhance the accessibility and economic viability of new migraine treatments.

    Keywords: Cost-Effectiveness, rimegepant, Migraine, On-demand treatment, China

    Received: 03 Apr 2024; Accepted: 12 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Tian, Yang, Tan, Luo, Yang, Liu and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jiani Luo, College of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541004, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
    Chuanyu Yang, Department of Pharmacy, Tongren People's Hospital, Tongren, China
    Qiao Liu, Department of Pharmacy, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
    Yujin Guo, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jining First People's Hospital, Jining, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.