Assessment of health economics in Alzheimer's disease (AHEAD): galantamine treatment in Canada

Given the high costs of caring for patients with AD in Canada, it is important to evaluate the costs of new therapies that halt or delay the advancement of AD, relative to the savings associated with delaying disease progression.

The Assessment of Health Economics in Alzheimer's Disease (AHEAD) model, which uses algorithms to predict the time until patients with AD require full-time care (FTC), was adapted to Canada to compare treatment with galantamine versus no pharmacologic treatment. Data from two clinical trials provided inputs into the algorithms, and forecasts were made for up to 10 years. Drug and health care costs were evaluated according to the stage of disease based on Quebec unit costs along with follow-up data from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging.

Galantamine is predicted to reduce the duration of FTC by almost 10%. Approximately 5.6 patients with mild to moderate disease must be placed on treatment to avoid one year of FTC, resulting in savings averaging $788 CAD ($528 USD) per patient. For patients with moderate disease, 3.9 patients must be placed on treatment to avoid one year of FTC, with savings predicted at $3718 CAD ($2533 USD) per patient.

Galantamine cannot only potentially increase the time before patients require FTC, but may also lead to overall savings because treatment costs are offset by reductions in other health care expenditures.