Biotechnology Healthcare - September/October 2008 - (Page 6)

AT A GLANCE MS: Prevalence, Economics, and the Pipeline Lola Butcher, Contributing Editor M ultiple sclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system, racks up huge costs, because treatments are expensive and because many patients with MS have a normal life span but an ever-increasing level of disability. Although the disease can appear at any age, it usually first affects people in their 20s or 30s. MS is one of the most common causes of nontraumatic disability among young and middle-aged people. EXTENT OF DISEASE Incidence and prevalence According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS afflicts an estimated 400,000 people in the United States. The disease is neither contagious nor directly inherited, but epidemiologists have identified several factors — including gender, genetics, age, geography, and ethnic background — that appear to be associated with MS. Notably, the prevalence of MS increases in populations that live farther away from the equator. 180 U.S. estimated prevalence rate of multiple sclerosis (Prevalence per 100,000) Latitude 42° 156 38° 120 35° 96 30° 68 Source: National Multiple Sclerosis Society Et cetera: About 10,000 people are diagnosed with MS annually in the United States. Incidence and prevalence data for MS rely on updates of a study conducted in the 1970s. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, is researching the best way to conduct a national study of MS to determine more authoritative data. ECONOMIC BURDEN Direct and indirect costs Although the cost of a given MS treatment can be high, it represents only one component of the financial burden associated with the disease. A 2004 survey of more than 1,900 participants in the North American Committee on Multiple Sclerosis Patient Registry who use diseasemodifying drugs pegged the total average annual economic burden at $47,215 per patient per year. Et cetera: Although many MS patients can remain employed, some are too disabled to work. About 44 percent of MS patients tracked in the longitudinal survey were in the labor force, compared with the U.S. average of 66 percent. Percent of total costs Informal care 10% Direct medical and nonmedical costs 37% Production losses 53% Source: Kobelt 2006 REFERENCES Bell C, Graham J, Earnshaw S, et al. Cost-effectiveness of four immunomodulatory therapies for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a Markov model based on long-term clinical data. J Manag Care Pharm. 2007;13:245–261. Kobelt G, Berg J, Atherly D, Hadjimichael O. Costs and quality of life in multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional study in the United States. Neurology. 2006;66:1696–1702. Minden SL, Frankel D, Hadden L, et al. The Sonya Slifka Longitudinal Multiple Sclerosis Study: methods and sample characteristics. Mult Scler. 2006;12:24–38. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Internal data used to construct map on page 6. PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America). New medicines database. «http://newmeds.phrma.org». Accessed Sept. 9, 2008. 6 BIOTECHNOLOGY HEALTHCARE · SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008 http://newmeds.phrma.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Biotechnology Healthcare - September/October 2008

Biotechnology Healthcare - September/October 2008 Openers Editorial/David B. Nash, MD, MBA Contents At a Glance: Multiple Sclerosis Drug Track Personalized Medicine Healthcare Reform’s Effects on Biologic Access Breast Cancer Status Testing: A Crapshoot With Deadly Odds Trends, Issues, and Perspectives In the Management of MS So High-Tech, Yet So Simple The Evolution of Ascertaining the Value Proposition Specialty Pharmacy Employer to Employer Health Plan Confidential Trends

Biotechnology Healthcare - September/October 2008

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