The cost-effectiveness of the Argus II retinal prosthesis in Retinitis Pigmentosa patients

Vaidya, A., Borgonovi, E., Taylor, R. S. , Sahel, J.-A., Rizzo, S., Stanga, P. E., Kukreja, A. and Walter, P. (2014) The cost-effectiveness of the Argus II retinal prosthesis in Retinitis Pigmentosa patients. BMC Ophthalmology, 14, 49. (doi: 10.1186/1471-2415-14-49) (PMID:24731533) (PMCID:PMC3990272)

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Abstract

Background: Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a hereditary genetic disease causing bilateral retinal degeneration. RP is a leading cause of blindness resulting in incurable visual impairment and drastic reduction in the Quality of life of the patients. Second Sight Medical Products Inc. developed Argus II, a retinal prosthesis system for treating RP. Argus II is the world’s first ever-commercial implant intended to restore some vision in the blind patients. The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of the Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System (Argus II) in Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) patients. Method: A multi -state transition Markov model was developed to determine the cost-effectiveness of Argus II versus usual care in RP from the perspective of healthcare payer. A hypothetical cohort of 1000 RP patients aged 46 years followed up over a (lifetime) 25-year time horizon. Health outcomes were expressed as quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and direct healthcare costs expressed in 2012 €. Results are reported as incremental cost per ratios (ICERs) with outcomes and costs discounted at an annual rate of 3.5%. Results: The ICER for Argus II was €14,603/QALY. Taking into account the uncertainty in model inputs the ICER was €14,482/QALY in the probabilistic analysis. In the scenarios of an assumption of no reduction on cost across model visual acuity states or a model time horizon as short as 10 years the ICER increased to €31,890/QALY and €49,769/QALY respectively. Conclusion: This economic evaluation shows that Argus II is a cost-effective intervention compared to usual care of the RP patients. The lifetime analysis ICER for Argus II falls below the published societal willingness to pay of EuroZone countries.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Taylor, Professor Rod
Authors: Vaidya, A., Borgonovi, E., Taylor, R. S., Sahel, J.-A., Rizzo, S., Stanga, P. E., Kukreja, A., and Walter, P.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU
Journal Name:BMC Ophthalmology
Publisher:BMC
ISSN:1471-2415
ISSN (Online):1471-2415
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2014 Vaidya et al.
First Published:First published in BMC Ophthalmology 14:49
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons license

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