Pharmacoeconomic evaluation of original and generic temozolomide capsules in the treatment of glioma

Abstract

AimOriginal patented drugs and generic drugs using the same pharmaceutical ingredients may have different clinical efficacies and prices. This study was designed to compare the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of original imported temozolomide capsules and those generic capsules manufactured domestically, with a pharmacoeconomic evaluation being performed. MethodsIn this retrospective study, 103 glioma patients from 2008 to 2018 were divided into the generic temozolomide group (72 cases) and the imported temozolomide group (31 cases). The 2-year overall survival (OS) and disease progression free survival (PFS) of the two groups were analyzed using Kaplan Meier survival curves, and the 2-year disease control rate and 2-year survival rate were calculated. The incidence of adverse reactions was also compared between the two groups. A pharmacoeconomic evaluation was performed on the two groups according to the total cost of treatment per capita. ResultsThe 2-year disease control rate of the domestic drug group was 52.8% and the imported drug group was 67.7%. The 2-year survival rate of the domestic drug group was 68.10%, with the imported drug group being 74.20%. The total cost of treatment per patient/2-year PFS time in the domestic drug group was 7000.55 yuan/month; while the imported drug group was 7705.41 yuan/month. The total cost of treatment per patient/2-year OS time in domestic drug group was 5821.20 yuan/month, while the imported drug group was 7035.53 yuan/month. ConclusionThere was no significant difference between the domestic drug group and the imported drug group in treatment efficacy and the total cost/2-year PFS time of the two groups were not significantly different. However, the total cost/2-year OS time of the domestic group was significant lower than the imported group, revealing a certain cost-effective advantage.