Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Evolocumab in Patients With Recent Acute Coronary Syndrome in China

Purpose: To assess the cost-effectiveness of evolocumab, a PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) inhibitor, added to background statins therapy in patients with a recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) event (in the past 12 months) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels ≥100 mg/dL in China.Methods: A health economic evaluation was performed from a Chinese healthcare perspective, using a Markov model over a lifetime horizon based on baseline CV event rate from claims database data and efficacy from the FOURIER trial. The health benefit was reflected in the decrease of LDL-C level, which led to the decrease of cardiovascular events. The cost of cardiovascular events and the utility value of each health state were derived from published literature. Sensitivity analysis were conducted to evaluate the effects of uncertainty in parameters and the robustness of the model. The cost-effectiveness of evolocumab was also explored in patients with recent MI, very high-risk (VHR) ASCVD and homozygous familiar hypercholesterolemia (HoFH).Results: In recent ACS patients, evolocumab was associated with incremental quality adjusted life years (QALYs) of 1.41 and incremental costs of 120,966 yuan vs. ezetimibe, both with background statins therapy, resulting in an ICER of 85,964 yuan per QALY gained. The probability that evolocumab is cost-effective at a threshold of 217,341 yuan (3 times per capita GDP, 2020) was 100% in patients with recent ACS, recent MI, VHR ASCVD and HoFH.Conclusion: Compared with ezetimibe, evolocumab was considered to be cost-effective in patients with a recent ACS event in China.