NORTH CHICAGO, Ill.,
Nov. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie
(NYSE: ABBV) today announced the publication of results from a new
literature review in Advances in Therapy. The literature
review reported that achieving clinical remission in rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) is likely to be associated with economic benefits,
such as reduced direct and indirect disease-related medical costs
compared with other disease activity levels.1
"People with rheumatoid arthritis not only experience a
significant physical and emotional burden, but this chronic,
progressive disease is also associated with a substantial financial
impact," said Sepideh F. Varon, Vice
President, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Immunology,
AbbVie. "In addition to the life-changing impact remission can have
on patients' lives, the findings of this new review highlight the
direct and indirect cost savings associated with achieving it."
Achieving RA remission was found to provide 19%-52% savings in
direct medical costs (e.g., by decreasing outpatient/specialist
visits, hospitalizations, medical exams/imaging/laboratory tests,
surgery, physiotherapy and orthosis), and 37%-75% savings in
indirect costs (e.g., by reducing work productivity loss and work
disability).1 Patients with sustained disease
control also reported fewer disease flares and required less
resources for disease management, such as clinic visits,
examinations or physiotherapy compared to other disease activity
levels.1
"It is well established that achieving high remission rates
early in the treatment journey can help patients to maintain joint
functionality and avoid disability in the long-term. However, this
publication has collated new and much needed insights into the
economic benefits of achieving remission," said Andrew Ostor, M.D., lead author of the
literature review and Consultant Rheumatologist at Cabrini Medical
Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
"These findings also underscore the importance of the
treat-to-target strategy to achieve RA remission, which is also
recommended in clinical guidelines."
Clinical remission for RA can be defined as an absence of, or
the minimal reoccurrence of, the signs and symptoms of inflammation
including joint pain, joint tenderness and morning
stiffness.2,3 Common assessment criteria for clinical
remission are based on Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28),
Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI), Clinical Disease Activity
Index (CDAI), and Boolean criteria. DAS28 represents the most
commonly used assessment criteria for clinical remission in daily
practice and clinical trials.4-7 Remission is defined as
achieving certain scores using these assessment criteria (e.g.,
DAS28˂2.6, SDAI≤3.3, CDAI≤2.8).8
About remission in RA
RA is a chronic condition impacting 23.7 million people
worldwide and can have a significant impact on their daily
lives.9 RA can cause joint pain, swelling, stiffness and
loss of function.10 It usually affects the hands, feet
and wrists. It can also cause some people to experience problems in
other areas of the body, or more general symptoms such as
fatigue.10 Patients may experience periods where
symptoms become worse, known as flare-ups or flares, which can be
difficult to predict.10
RA is not curable but advances over the past 20 years have made
it possible for patients to reach remission – a state where the
signs and symptoms of the disease, including joint pain, joint
tenderness and morning stiffness, are completely absent or rarely
occur.11 This can allow patients to participate in
regular daily activities, like returning to work, taking the kids
to school, or going on a hike. Both the European League Against
Rheumatism (EULAR) and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)
include remission as a goal in their treatment
guidelines.11
About the literature review1
The literature review was conducted by searching the PubMed
database (including MEDLINE and PubMed Central) to identify studies
that reported economic outcomes by disease activity status in
patients with RA, including direct medical costs, indirect costs,
healthcare resource use and work productivity. Following the search
and abstract and full-text screening, 16 articles were selected for
inclusion in the summary. The selected articles spanned several
countries, including Austria,
Canada, France, Germany, Portugal, the
Netherlands and the U.S.
To enable a fair comparison between studies, yearly costs were
reported in Euros after adjusting for inflation and currency
exchange rates. For studies that did not directly report the cost
among patients without remission, the cost was calculated as a
weighted average of costs in subgroups without remission (e.g., low
disease activity [LDA] and moderate/high disease activity [M/HDA])
based on the sample sizes, when applicable. The time span of cost
assessment in the studies included in the literature review ranged
from six months to 24 months. Future studies with expanded data
collection periods are needed to evaluate how remission impacts
healthcare costs in the long term. All studies included in the
literature review were observational in nature.
About AbbVie in rheumatology
For more than 20 years, AbbVie has been dedicated to improving
care for people living with rheumatic diseases. Our longstanding
commitment to discovering and delivering transformative therapies
is underscored by our pursuit of cutting-edge science that improves
our understanding of promising new pathways and targets in order to
help more people living with rheumatic diseases reach their
treatment goals. For more information on AbbVie in rheumatology,
visit
https://www.abbvie.com/our-science/therapeutic-focus-areas/immunology/immunology-focus-areas/rheumatology.html.
About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines
that solve serious health issues today and address the medical
challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on
people's lives across several key therapeutic areas: immunology,
oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology, women's health and
gastroenterology, in addition to products and services across its
Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie,
please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements in this news release are, or may be
considered, forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe,"
"expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions, among
others, generally identify forward-looking statements. AbbVie
cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
AbbVie's operations, results and financial results, that may cause
actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the
forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include,
but are not limited to, failure to realize the expected benefits of
the Allergan acquisition, failure to promptly and effectively
integrate Allergan's businesses, significant transaction costs
and/or unknown or inestimable liabilities, potential litigation
associated with the Allergan acquisition, challenges to
intellectual property, competition from other products,
difficulties inherent in the research and development process,
adverse litigation or government action, and changes to laws and
regulations applicable to our industry. Additional information
about the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and
other factors that may affect AbbVie's operations is set forth in
Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of AbbVie's 2020 Annual Report on Form
10-K, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). AbbVie undertakes no obligation to release
publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of
subsequent events or developments, except as required by
law.
References:
- Ostor, A.J., Sawant, R., Qi, C.Z. et al. Value of Remission in
Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Targeted Review. Adv Ther (2021).
- American College of Rheumatology. "Rheumatoid Arthritis."
Available at:
https://www.rheumatology.org/I-Am-A/Patient-Caregiver/Diseases-Conditions/Rheumatoid-Arthritis.
Accessed October 2021.
- Arthritis Foundation. "Your RA is in Remission! Now What?"
Available at:
https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/treatment/treatment-plan/disease-management/your-ra-is-in-remission!-now-what.
Accessed October 2021.
- Canhao, H., et al., Common Evaluations of Disease Activity in
Rheumatoid Arthritis Reach Discordant Classifications across
Different Populations. Front Med (Lausanne), 2018. 5: p. 40.
- Fransen, J. and P.L. van Riel, The Disease Activity Score and
the EULAR response criteria. Rheum Dis Clin North Am, 2009. 35(4):
p. 745-57, vii-viii.
- Gul, H.L., et al., Defining remission in rheumatoid arthritis:
does it matter to the patient? A comparison of multi-dimensional
remission criteria and patient reported outcomes. Rheumatology
(Oxford), 2020. 59(3): p. 613-621.
- Vander Cruyssen, B., et al.,
DAS28 best reflects the physician's clinical judgment of response
to infliximab therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients: validation
of the DAS28 score in patients under infliximab treatment.
Arthritis Res Ther, 2005. 7(5): p. R1063-71.
- Bykerk, V. and E. M. Massarotti, The new ACR/EULAR remission
criteria: rationale for developing new criteria for
remission. Rheumatology, 2012. 51(6), pp. vi16–vi20.
- World Health Organization. The Global Burden of Disease, 2004
Update. Available at:
http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GBD_report_2004update_full.pdf.
Accessed October 2021.
- NHS. "Overview Rheumatoid arthritis." Available at:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis. Accessed October 2021.
- Ajeganova S. and Huizinga T., Sustained remission in rheumatoid
arthritis: latest evidence and clinical considerations. Ther Adv
Musculoskelet Dis. 2017 Oct;9(10):249-262.
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