Abstract
Background
It is well established that single pill combination (SPC) therapies have the potential to improve patient adherence versus multi-pill regimens, thereby improving blood pressure control and clinical outcomes in populations with hypertension.
Purpose
To develop a microsimulation model, capturing different treatment pathways, to project the impact on clinical outcomes of using single pill combination therapies for the management of hypertension in five countries (Italy, Russia, China, South Korea and Mexico).
Methods
The model was designed to project health outcomes between 2020 and 2030 for populations with hypertension managed according to four different treatment pathways: current treatment practices [CTP], single drug with dosage titration first then sequential addition of other agents [start low and go slow, SLGS], free choice combination with multiple pills [FCC] and combination therapy in the form of a single pill [SPC]. Model inputs were derived from Global Burden of Disease 2017 dataset, including demographics, health status/risk factors, transition probabilities and treatment attributes/healthcare utilization, and the model incorporated real-world challenges to healthcare delivery such as access to care, SBP measurement error, adherence and therapeutic inertia. Simulated outcomes of mortality, incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD), stroke and ischemic heart disease (IHD), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to these conditions were estimated for population of 1,000,000 simulated patients for each treatment pathway and country.
Results
SPC therapy was projected to improve health outcomes over SLGS, FCC and CTP over 10 years in all five countries. SPC was forecast to reduce mortality by 5.4% (Italy), 4.9% (Russia), 4.5% (China), 2.3% (South Korea) and 3.6% (Mexico) versus CTP and showed greater projected reductions in mortality than SLGS and FCC. DALYs were projected to be reduced with SPC therapy by between 5.7% (Italy) and 2.2% (South Korea) compared with CTP and reductions in the incidence of clinical events were also projected with SPC therapy, with decreases in the range of 11.5% (Italy) to 4.9% (South Korea) versus CTP.
Conclusions
Ten-year projections of clinical outcomes associated with different anti-hypertensive treatment pathways in five countries indicated that both combination therapies (FCC and SPC) are likely to reduce the disease burden of hypertension compared with conventional management approaches, with SPC showing the greatest overall benefits due to improved adherence.
Funding Acknowledgement
Type of funding source: Private company. Main funding source(s): Sanofi, Gentilly, France
