OBJECTIVES: To assess the budget impact of switching patients with acromegaly or gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NET) on the formulary from octreotide to lanreotide, both somatostatin analogues, at public hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS: A model over a three-year time horizon was built via a digital platform (HEPA) to evaluate the impact on the budget from a payer perspective in five major tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Data was sourced from local experts and the national drugs tender list. A model was built to estimate the potential reduction in total cost per patient when lanreotide is used instead of octreotide on the formulary. Model parameters included drug acquisition cost, medication preparation cost, and administration cost per patient. It was estimated that 300 patients would be eligible for treatment each year according to expert inputs. It was hypothesized that 50% of the lanreotide patient group would be able to us injections independently: either self or by partner(family member) with calculating the difference in number of hospitals visits avoidance.

RESULTS: Having lanreotide on the formulary instead of octreotide would reduce the budget by 21.2 % over the 3-year estimated period. The potential cost saving would be over 10.788 million SAR($ 2. 876 million) for 300 treated patients within three years, mainly driven by drug acquisition costs (average annually per patient for lanreotide $11,574.4 compared to $14,377.6 for octreotide). 50 % of patients independently administering lanreotide will lead to an annual decrease of 900 hospital visits. From the hospital perspective, 5 nurse hours would be saved with lanreotide annually per patient.

CONCLUSIONS: Switching to lanreotide treatment for acromegaly and GEP-NET would substantially decrease the cost spent over 3 years and optimize patient quality of life by enabling patients to be treated at home (self or partner/family member administration).