Impact of Immunoablation and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation on Treatment Cost of Multiple Sclerosis: Real-World Nationwide Study

Objectives: To provide real-world data on the impact of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) on treatment costs of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Poland. Methods: Medical data of 105 patients who underwent AHSCT in the years 2011 to 2016 were obtained from the National Health Fund (NHF) database. Treatment costs were calculated from the public payer's perspective per patient-year for the total available period as well as 12 months before and after AHSCT. The statistical analysis was performed using MATLAB 2016b. Results: Mean treatment-related costs covered by the NHF per patient-year before and after the transplantation were euro 4314.9 and euro 1188.8 , respectively. The average cost of disease-modifying drugs per patient was reduced from euro 2497.9/year before to euro 65.3/year after AHSCT. Conclusions: Although the initial cost of AHSCT is high, the costs involving AHSCT and post-AHSCT treatment could, according to our analysis, pay off in 3.9 years, when compared to the costs of disease-modifying drug therapy in aggressive MS. The study provides evidence that the AHSCT can lead to significant savings in treatment costs of aggressive MS from the public payer's perspective.