ICER Final Evidence Report on myasthenia gravis therapies confirms need for lower prices

The US medicines cost watchdog the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) today released a Final Evidence Report assessing the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of eculizumab (Soliris; sponsor: Alexion Pharmaceuticals, which is now a part of AstraZeneca [LSE: AZN]) and efgartigimod (sponsors: argenx [Euronext: ARGX], Halozyme Therapeutics [Nasdaq: HALO], and Zai Lab) [HKG: 9688]) for the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG).

“Myasthenia gravis is a serious lifelong disease with life-threatening manifestations, and conventional therapy with high-dose corticosteroids remains inadequate for most patients,” said Foluso Agboola, the ICER’s vice president of research.

“While our review of available evidence suggests that both eculizumab and efgartigimod appear to significantly improve function and quality of life for these patients, there are uncertainties about longer-term outcomes for efgartigimod and how it will be dosed in real-world settings. Efgartigimod’s price is not yet known, but our analysis suggests that the current list price for eculizumab is far higher than the usual thresholds for cost-effectiveness. Further, it’s important to monitor these treatments’ effectiveness in minority populations to develop a complete picture of their overall efficacy,” he noted.