Dosing Intervals and Cost Per Day of Aripiprazole Once Every Month 400 mg and Aripiprazole Lauroxil 882 mg in the Treatment of Patients Diagnosed with Schizophrenia or Bipolar I Disorder

This study was sponsored by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA, and H. Lundbeck LLC, Deerfield, IL, USA. This analysis aims to validate previous research based on the IQVIA database. It estimates the annual drug treatment costs for the long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics aripiprazole once monthly 400 mg (AOM 400) and aripiprazole lauroxil 882 mg (AL 882) among patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder (BP-I). Unlike AOM 400, AL 882 is not indicated for BP-I, but is sometimes prescribed for patients diagnosed with BP-I. Adults with one inpatient or two outpatient claims, newly initiated on LAI treatment, were selected from the Merative™ MarketScan® Research Database (July 2018–June 2021). Dosing intervals (4, 6, and 8 weeks) were recorded for each therapy. In the base case (BC), the interval between consecutive claims was used to assess the frequency of LAI use, while a scenario analysis (SA) used the average days’ supply across claims. The proportions within each dosing interval were applied to a hypothetical population of 1,000 patients, and wholesale drug acquisition, administration, and treatment initiation costs were calculated. Most patients received a dose within the 4-week interval for both AOM 400 and AL 882. The cost per day for 1,000 patients was: AOM 400: $85,195 (BC) and $97,557(SA); AL 882: $93,539 (BC) and $105,278 (SA). Annual drug treatment costs were: AOM 400: $31,096,309 (BC) and $35,608,441 (SA); AL 882: $34,141,939 (BC) and $38,426,618 (SA). This finding may have important implications for a health plan when choosing an LAI antipsychotic treatment for patients diagnosed with either schizophrenia or BP-I.