Abstract:
In the developed world, the incidence of atopic dermatitis, a highly pruritic skin disease of both adults and children, is on the rise. A number of different therapies are available, the majority of which are focussed on the topical application of a variety of different drugs prepared as creams or ointments. The most potent of these have the potential for significant adverse effects. Lypanosys’ proprietary drug LYP-010 is a novel therapy for atopic dermatitis. Its active ingredients, route of administration and mechanism of action are different to current standards of care. Based on data from use of LYP-010 and its constituents as ingredients in marketed nutritional supplements, the drug is safe. In order to optimise the commercial development of LYP-010, Lypanosys plans to seek a suitable development partner. In order to better communicate the potential cost-effectiveness of LYP-010, a pharmacoeconomic model to support reimbursement applications needs to be constructed. The objective of this thesis is the construction of a novel pharmacoeconomic model that can be used to determine the cost-effectiveness of LYP-010. The focus is not the pharmacoeconomic output of the model, but the construction of the novel model itself. A systematic review was carried out to identify existing models, and to determine their applicability to a model for LYP-010. The main findings of this research indicate that a diverse array of different atopic dermatitis pharmacoeconomic models has been developed. However, given the unique characteristics of LYP-010 and the nature of the clinical efficacy data available, not all of these models were appropriate. It was found that a cost-utility Markov model built on disease or health states was the most suitable for LYP-010. This model can be used to its full potential once more robust LYP-010 clinical efficacy data become available.
