Immunosuppressants in Brazil: underlying drivers of spending trends, 2010-2015

Jessica de Castro Alves, Claudia Garcia Serpa Osorio-de-Castro, Bjorn Wettermark, Tatiana Chama Borges Luz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Immunosuppressants are recommended for treatment of autoimmune diseases, and in transplant therapy. The high cost of these drugs has been causing an important impact on global pharmaceutical spending.Objective: Analyzing immunosuppressant expenditure in Brazil, using data from the Federal Procurement System database (SIASG), between 2010 and 2015.Methods: The pharmaceutical products were classified in accordance with the Anatomical, Therapeutic and Chemical (ATC) classification system recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) and aggregated by volume and by expenditure. The expenditure variation was decomposed into three broad categories: price effects, quantity effects, and drug mix effects.Results: During the period, annual expenditure increased by 49 ranging from USD 494.5 million in 2010 to USD 738.7 million in 2015, while purchased quantities increased by 294 ranging from 49.8 million in 2010 to 196.5 million in 2015. Two factors drove expenditures: the quantity effect and the drug-mix effect.Conclusion: These findings may contribute to understand immunosuppressant spending trends and the factors that influence them in order to formulate effective cost containment strategies and design optimum drug policy. Rigorous evaluations are recommended to reduce the drug-mix effect, including systems to monitor price, effectiveness, safety, therapeutic value and budget impact of pharmaceutical innovations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)565-572
Number of pages8
JournalExpert Review of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research
Volume18
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Jun 2018

Keywords

  • drivers
  • drug expenditure
  • immunosuppressants
  • trends

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Immunosuppressants in Brazil: underlying drivers of spending trends, 2010-2015'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this