Papers of the Week

To assess the cost-effectiveness of mirogabalin versus no treatment or pregabalin in patients with post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) from a third-party perspective in Taiwan. A Markov model, which was developed with 2-week cycles and 1-year time horizon from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Administration perspective, consisted of three health states: 'mild', 'moderate' and 'severe' pain. Average daily pain score (ADPS) was assessed at the end of each cycle. Patients either remained in, or transitioned from, their assigned health state to a different state according to their pain score changes. All patients entered the model in 'moderate' (4 ≤ ADPS <7) or 'severe' (7 ≤ ADPS ≤10) pain health states. Efficacy data was informed by the pivotal Phase III trial, or by a network meta-analysis (NMA). Utility values were obtained from published literature and cost data from Taiwanese clinical experts and the Taiwan National Health Insurance Administration, using 2018 New Taiwan dollar (NT$). Probabilistic analysis was conducted to test the robustness of base case results. Head-to-head analysis showed mirogabalin 30mg to be cost-effective versus no treatment in PHN. The deterministic analysis estimated a QALY gain of 0.041 at an ICER of NT$11,231 (US$365) versus no treatment (ICER: NT$274,567 [US$8,900]). In the NMAs, mirogabalin was cost-effective compared to pregabalin 150mg (ICER: NT$515,881 [US$16,720]) and 300mg (ICER: NT$201,671 [US$6,535]). Mirogabalin 30mg dominated pregabalin 600mg. Results from sensitivity and scenario analyses confirmed these results. Mirogabalin 30mg, a potent and selective α2δ ligand, is a cost-effective treatment option for PHN in Taiwan, with ICERs below the willingness-to-pay threshold.