Heart drug for US blacks can cut costs: study

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new heart-failure drug for blacks
can reduce the amount it costs to treat the fatal disease by 34
percent, researchers said on Monday in a company-funded study.

It cost an average of $5,997 to treat patients with the
heart problem using the combination drug, Nitromed Inc.’s
BiDil, in addition to standard therapy compared with $9,144 in
patients taking a placebo, they found. Both estimates exclude
medication costs.

Results from the study appear in the December 13 issue of
Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.

In June, BiDil became the first medicine approved for one
specific race by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
African-Americans have been found more likely than others to
develop heart failure and to die early from the disease.

BiDil combines two generic medicines that dilate blood
vessels and is designed to treat congestive heart failure,
which weakens the heart over time and impairs the heart’s
ability to pump.

Dr. Jalal Ghali, a cardiologist at Louisiana State
University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, said it
usually costs more to help patients fare better.

“This drug actually reduced costs in addition to improving
outcome,” said Ghali, who helped lead an earlier study showing
the drug was safe and effective.

Researchers combed through earlier data, analyzing how
often patients made unscheduled doctor’s visits or hospital
emergency room trips, and the length of any hospitalization.
Costs were estimated using data from Medicare, the U.S.
insurance program for the elderly and disabled.

Overall, annual health-care costs for patients taking BiDil
were 22 percent lower than those taking placebo, an average of
$15,384 compared to $19,728, the study said.

Although the data covered one year, Dr. Derek Angus, the
study’s lead author and a professor of Critical Care Medicine
and Health Policy and Management at the University of
Pittsburgh, said researchers projected the drug would still
save money over time.

NitroMed President and Chief Executive Officer Michael
Loberg said company officials were pleased with the findings.
The drugmaker has been criticized for targeting a race for
profit because the company holds patent rights for use of the
drug in blacks until 2020, while its patent for general use
expires in 2007.

The company has insisted the drug is based on solid science
and addresses a major public health concern.

Generic drugs usually cost less than their branded
counterparts. BiDil, a brand name, sells for $1.80 a pill with
the maximum prescribed dose of two tablets taken three times a
day. This would mean a cost to the average patient of between
$5.40 and $10.80.

American Heart Association president-elect Raymond Gibbons
said the findings were impressive, but questioned whether they
would hold up under real-world use.

“The average daily drug cost of $6.38 is likely to pose a
substantial barrier for many patients, which may lead to lower
compliance and less impressive results,” he said.

About 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with heart
failure, and about 750,000 are black, according to government
estimates.