Cost-effectiveness analysis of finotonlimab in the treatment of advanced recurrent metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in China

The SCT-I10A-B301 trial demonstrated efficacy and safety of finotonlimab combined with chemotherapy in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC). However, the economics of this therapy are unknown. This study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness of incorporating finotonlimab into chemotherapy regimens for R/M HNSCC from the viewpoint of the Chinese healthcare system. A Markov model was developed to evaluate the treatment costs and outcomes of finotonlimab combined with chemotherapy for R/M HNSCC. Survival data were obtained from the SCT-I10A-B301 trial. Considering only direct medical costs, survival data, and utilities. The principal result measures employed were the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). To identify how parameter uncertainty affected the model, one-way sensitivity analyses, probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA), and scenario studies were carried out. The results showed that the financial burden of finotonlimab, when administered concomitantly with chemotherapy ($36,996.99) was $26,072.18 higher than chemotherapy ($10,924.81) but also increased by 0.23QALY (0.89QALY vs. 0.66QALY), with an ICER of $112,384.47/QALY, which was higher than the willingness to pay (WTP) of $40,744/QALY. The model's sensitivity to three factors was particularly pronounced: the utility of PFS, the utility of PD, and the cost of finotonlimab. Scenario analysis showed that a price reduction for finotonlimab could significantly reduce the ICER to near the WTP threshold. Compared with chemotherapy alone, finotonlimab combined with chemotherapy has been determined to be an ineffective, cost-effective therapeutic strategy for the first-line medical treatment of R/M HNSCC in China, and the price discount of finotonlimab can improve its cost-effectiveness.