Health economic implications of the use of erdosteine in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease

Introduction: Erdosteine, a thiol- based drug, is effective in reducing exacerbation risk in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients irrespective of concurrent treatment with ICS.1, 2 Aims and objectives: Aim of this analysis was to evaluate the impact of the treatment with erdosteine on hospitalizations and related costs for COPD patients in Countries with an established use of the drug. Hospitalizations number and costs were estimated based on the difference in hospitalization rate due to COPD exacerbation between erdosteine-treated patients versus placebo-treated patients reported in RESTORE clinical study.1 Hospitalization costs in charge to health services and COPD prevalence were collected for eleven Countries worldwide, where the drug is currently marketed. Erdosteine is not reimbursed in all considered Countries so, conservatively, drug cost was not included in the analysis. Results: Data related to the following Countries were analyzed: Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, UK, Greece, Finland, Singapore and Philippines. Considering COPD prevalence for the selected Countries, erdosteine could be associated with a reduction in the number of hospitalizations per Country/year up to about 88,000 corresponding to an annual saving up to €75 millions. Conclusions: The treatment with erdosteine can be considered as an option to contribute to the reduction in COPD related hospitalizations and costs in charge to NHS. References 1) Dal Negro RW et al Eur Respir J. 2017;50(4):1700711 2) GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) Report 2022