Nintedanib and pirfenidone: 24 month predicted versus actual analysis
Page last updated: 10 July 2020
Drug utilisation sub-committee (DUSC)
February 2020
Abstract
Purpose
To compare the predicted and actual utilisation of nintedanib and pirfenidone for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) since PBS listing.
Date of listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
- Nintedanib: 1 May 2017
- Pirfenidone: 1 July 2017
Data Source / methodology
PBS prescription data for nintedanib and pirfenidone dispensed from 1 May 2017 to 30 September 2019 were extracted from the Department of Human Services (DHS) Supplied Prescriptions database.
Key Findings
- In total, 31,860 prescriptions have been supplied to 2,975 patients for the treatment of IPF.
- In the third quarter of 2019, there were 2,620 (56%) prescriptions of nintedanib dispensed compared with 2,084 (44%) of pirfenidone. Nintedanib was supplied to 1,007 (54%) patients, 833 (45%) were supplied pirfenidone, and 25 (1%) were supplied both nintedanib and pirfenidone.
- Of the nintedanib prescriptions supplied since PBS listing, 4,559 (27%) of 16,717 were for the 100 mg capsule. The median time of a dose reduction for nintedanib was estimated from the data to be 318 days.
- The number of patients treated for IPF estimated by the sponsor of nintedanib was underestimated in the first two years of listing. The number of prescriptions was overestimated in year 1 and similar to the estimated number in year 2.
- The number of patients treated for IPF and the number of supplied prescriptions estimated by the sponsor of pirfenidone were overestimated in the first two years of listing.
Full Report
