11 September 2015 - The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has released a new report titled CardioMEMS HF System (St. Jude Medical) and sacubitril with valsartan (Entresto, Novartis) for Management of Congestive Heart Failure: Effectiveness, Value, and Value-Based Price Benchmarks. The report offers a comprehensive review of currently available evidence on two new interventions that have triggered significant interest as potential advances in the care of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). The first of these is a system for monitoring increases in pulmonary artery pressure (a key indicator of worsening CHF) known as CardioMEMS, and the second is the medication sacubitril/valsartan (Entresto™) to treat CHF. The ICER report provides analyses of long-term cost-effectiveness and the potential budget impact of these new interventions. In addition, the results of these analyses are used to calculate a value-based price benchmark for each intervention. These price benchmarks reflect estimates of how much better the interventions are at improving patient outcomes, tempered by thresholds at which additional new costs would contribute to growth in health care costs exceeding growth in the overall national economy.

CHF represents a major public health concern, currently affecting nearly 6 million individuals in the US. Growth in per capita medical spending and aging of the population are expected to contribute to substantial increases in the direct medical costs of treating CHF, with annual costs totaling nearly $80 billion by 2030.

“Figuring out the effectiveness and value of new drugs and devices is not merely an academic exercise,” Steven D. Pearson, MD, MSc, the Founder and President of ICER noted. “The headlines are full of stories about rising health care costs and their impact on patients, families, and the budgets of states and the federal government. A clear-eyed view of the evidence is critical to all members of the health care community as we try to figure out what should be used, which patients benefit most, and at what price innovative treatments represent a reasonable value.”

For more details, go to: http://www.icer-review.org/chf-draft-report-posted/