OBJECTIVES: Diabetes caused a total annual cost of $548 billion worldwide in 2013 and accounted for 11% of total healthcare expenditures for adults. The aim of this study is to conduct a pharmacoeconomic evaluation of insulin glargine injection 300 Units/mL (IGI-300U/mL), used to treat type-1 and 2 diabetes (T1DM-T2DM), and compare its cost-minimization to that of its competitors in Turkiye.

METHODS: A cost-minimization analysis in Microsoft Office Excel was used to model the treatments of T1DM-T2DM in Turkiye. Analyses were conducted from the perspective of the payer institution over a period of one year. The number and rate of annual outpatient visits by patients with T1DM and T2DM, of imaging and laboratory tests, of complications, of hospitalizations, and of interventions were obtained from expert opinions, epidemiological studies, and a literature review. The costs of healthcare were calculated based on the Social Security Institution Health Implementation Communiqué. All insulin injections currently available in Turkiye that are eligible for reimbursement were included in the study.

RESULTS: The annual costs of medications and other medical devices were 2,377 TL for IGI-300U/mL, 2,554 TL for IGI-100U/mL(a), 2,799 TL for insulin detemir 2,554 TL for IGI-100U/mL(b), and 2,499 TL for IGI-100U/mL(c). Therefore, the total annual cost of treating patients with T1DM and T2DM with IGI-300U/mL was 12,072 TL; for treatment with IGI-100U/mL(a), the total cost was 12,646 TL; for treatment with insulin detemir, the total cost was 12,892 TL; for treatment with IGI-100U/mL(b), the total cost was 12,646 TL; and for treatment with IGI-100U/mL(c), the total cost was 12,591 TL.

CONCLUSIONS: Cost of outpatient visits, hospitalization and other interventions, incidence complications, and medicines in the use of IGI-300U/mL offer lower costs compared to other treatments. The results of the cost-minimization analysis show that IGI-300U/mL is both cheaper and more effective than other treatments for T1DM-T2DM in Turkiye.