Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Angiotensin Receptor Neprilysin Inhibitor Compared With Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor Among Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction in Malaysia

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the costs and effectiveness of angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) for the heart failure with reduced ejection fraction population from the Malaysian Ministry of Health's perspective. METHODS: A 3-state Markov model, with a monthly cycle, was constructed to estimate the lifetime healthcare costs, quality-adjusted life year (QALY), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of ARNI and ACEI. The monthly baseline risks for all-cause mortality and heart failure (HF) hospitalization were estimated from the PARADIGM-HF trial and age-adjusted to the Malaysian population. The treatment effects were obtained from the PARADIGM-HF trial. All-cause mortality risks from hospitalization, utility values, and costs were derived from local studies. All costs were adjusted to 2023. The ICER was compared with Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 55 426 per QALY (one gross domestic product per capita). RESULTS: Despite ARNI being more expensive compared with ACEI, it gained more QALYs, resulting in an ICER of RM46 498 per QALY. One-way sensitivity analyses found that the key model drivers were the relative treatment effects on cardiovascular mortality, duration of treatment effects, and time horizon. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis estimated that ARNI is 66% cost-effective at the cost-effectiveness threshold of RM55 426 per QALY. Subgroup analysis showed that ICER increased with age. Scenario analysis demonstrated that initiation of ARNI alongside sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT-2i) produces more favorable ICER and ARNI without SGLT-2i. CONCLUSIONS: At the cost-effectiveness threshold of RM55 426 per QALY, ARNI is cost-effective compared with ACEI for the heart failure with reduced ejection fraction population. Expanding patient access to ARNI is likely to improve health outcomes cost-effectively.