Biotechnology Healthcare - July/August 2008 - (Page 39)

HCA, the approach used in most studies (Loftland 2001, Liljas 1998), assigns value to lost productivity by estimating expected or potential earnings lost due to a disease or disorder. HCA assigns zero dollars to costs incurred outside of paid work, such as hiring a maid to do housework. FCA incorporates both the time needed to replace the RA-affected worker and the time needed for the replacement worker to reach the productivity level of the affected worker pre-illness. FCA includes the costs of hiring, replacing, and training a new employee, as well as the lost productivity level prior to the absent worker being replaced and the decreased outTABLE 1 Product etanercept (Enbrel) darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp) rituximab (Rituxan/ MabThera) epoetin alfa (Procrit/Eprex) pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) epoetin alfa (Epogen) insulin glargine [rDNA] injection (Lantus)* interferon β-1b (Betaferon/ Betaseron) filgrastim (Neupogen) put associated with any new employee. FCA also assigns zero dollar value to costs incurred outside of paid work. Although FCA tends to yield lower estimates (Liljas 1998), it is probably a better method for calculating work productivity losses from the employer perspective, whereas HCA is more appropriate from a societal perspective (Loftland 2004). Li (2006) found that 41 percent of RA patients’ work productivity losses were due to reduced performance, and 22 percent were due to absences and abbreviated work hours. It also has been reported that workers with arthritis or back pain have an average productivity loss of 5.2 hours per week (Stewart 2003). Two studies by Yelin (1996, 2007) have shown that half of RA patients stop working 13 years after the onset of symptoms, and that productivity losses for those who remained employed ranged from 22 to 76 percent. IMPACT OF BIOLOGICS ON PRODUCTIVITY It should not be surprising that employers want results from (or returns on) their investments, often in the form of work performance. The data they seek are beginning to surface. One study showed the majority of RA patients’ work productivity losses occurred at the onset of disease, and that SELECTED TOP-SELLING BIOLOGICS AND THEIR PATENT EXPIRATIONS Company Amgen, Wyeth Indication Rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory disorders Renal and cancer anemia Patent expiration U.S. Europe 2012 2010 2006 revenue (millions) $4,379 Amgen 2016 2014 $4,121 Genentech, Roche, Biogen Idec Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis 2015 2013 $3,912 Johnson & Johnson Renal and cancer anemia 2013 2004 $3,180 Amgen Neutropenia 2015 2015 $2,710 Amgen Renal and cancer anemia 2013 2004 $2,511 sanofi aventis Diabetes 2014 2014 $2,115 Bayer Schering Pharma Multiple sclerosis 2007 2008 $1,273 Amgen Neutropenia 2013 2006 $1,213 *Lantus revenues converted into U.S. dollars using the average exchange rate in the company’s 2006 annual report. Sources: CVS 2007, Regent Atlantic Capital 2007 JULY/AUGUST 2008 · BIOTECHNOLOGY HEALTHCARE 39

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Biotechnology Healthcare - July/August 2008

Biotechnology Healthcare - July/August 2008 Openers Contents Editorial/David B. Nash, MD, MBA Drug Track Health Plan Confidential Rheumatoid Arthritis A Decade of Trial, Error, False Starts, and Hope What Path Will Comparative Effectiveness Research Take? RA Therapies in Development: A New Generation of Relief Assessing the Full Impact of RA on Employers and Payers Stem Cells: Health Insurance You Can Bank On Specialty Pharmacy Employer to Employer Personalized Medicine Trends Clinical Briefs

Biotechnology Healthcare - July/August 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.