An Economic Analysis of Ferric Derisomaltose versus Ferric Carboxymaltose in the Treatment of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Norway, Sweden, and Finland

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a common sequela of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), arising from the combined effects of gastrointestinal blood loss and reduced iron absorption. Given this, intravenous (IV) iron should be considered as the first-line treatment in patients with clinically active IBD. The present study evaluated the budget impact of administering IV iron with ferric derisomaltose (FDI) versus ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) in patients with IDA and IBD in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. METHODS: A cohort level model of iron need was developed using a bivariate distribution of hemoglobin and bodyweight based on observational data from a multi-country Scandinavian study of patients with IDA and IBD. The base case analysis was conducted over 5 years in patients with IDA with mean bodyweight of 75.4 kg (SD 17.5 kg) and hemoglobin levels of 10.77 g/dL (SD 1.43 g/dL). Infusion costs were modeled using diagnosis-related groups. Sensitivity analyses were performed around different patient characteristics, care settings, and retreatment frequencies, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Using FDI required 1.25 infusions to correct the mean iron deficit, compared with 1.64 infusions with FCM. In Norway, the per-patient cost of iron replenishment over 5 years was estimated to be NOK20,767 with FCM versus NOK15,799 with FDI, reflecting a cost saving of NOK4,968 or 23.9%. In Finland, costs were projected to decrease from EUR3075 with FCM to EUR2339 with FDI, reflecting a cost saving of EUR736 per patient. In Sweden, costs decreased from SEK27,760 with FCM to SEK21,119 with FDI. CONCLUSION: Using FDI in place of FCM resulted in a substantial reduction in the number of infusions required to correct iron deficits in patients with IDA and IBD. The reduction in infusions was accompanied by substantial cost savings relative to FCM over 5 years across all three Nordic countries evaluated.