USA's ICER views cost-effectiveness of Novartis' Entresto

A new report offers a comprehensive review of currently-available evidence on two new interventions that have triggered significant interest as potential advances in the care of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF).

The USA-based Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has released a report, titled CardioMEMS HF System (St Jude Medical) and Sacubitril/Valsartan (Entresto, Novartis) for Management of Congestive Heart Failure: Effectiveness, Value, and Value-Based Price Benchmarks.

The first of these is a system for monitoring increases in pulmonary artery pressure (a key indicator of worsening CHF) known as CardioMEMS, and the second is Swiss pharma giant Novartis’ (NOVN: VX) drug Entresto to treat CHF. The US Food and Drug Administration this summer approved Entresto for the treatment of heart failure, marking its first regulatory clearance (The Pharma Letter July 8). It is under review around the world, including in Canada, Switzerland and the European Union. Once approved by these regulators, Entresto could achieve estimated peak sales in excess of $5 billion for the reduced ejection fraction indication, according to a previous Novartis press statement.