Impact on Healthcare Resource Utilization in Early Initiators of Ravulizumab or Efgartigimod for Treatment of Generalized Myasthenia Gravis in the U.S.A.
Riley Snook1, Michael Blackowicz2, Emma Weiskopf2, Dan Fogarty3, Neha Arora3, Raghav Govindarajan4
1Indiana University Health, 2Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease, 3Definitive Healthcare LLC, 4HSHS St. Elizabeth Medical Group
Objective:
This study aims to present real-world evidence demonstrating the impact of both ravulizumab and efgartigimod on gMG-related healthcare resource utilization in patients initiating treatment within 2 years of diagnosis.
Background:
Generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder characterized by fatigable muscle weakness. Suboptimally treated gMG can result in clinical deterioration, hospitalizations, and increased healthcare resource utilization. Ravulizumab, a complement C5 inhibitor, and efgartigimod, an FCRn inhibitor, are US FDA-approved therapies for anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody positive gMG.
Design/Methods:
Patients initiating ravulizumab or efgartigimod within 2 years of diagnosis were identified in Atlas (Definitive Healthcare), a hybrid open/closed US claims database set between 01/2017 to 12/2024. Patients had ≥1 year of continuous follow-up before and after initiation. The study compared hospitalizations and other healthcare resource utilization before and after initiation of ravulizumab or efgartigimod.
Results:
There were 114 ravulizumab patients and 639 efgartigimod patients who met the inclusion criteria. Initiators of ravulizumab within 2 years of diagnosis experienced an 81% (IRR=0.19; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.30; p<0.001) reduction in all-cause hospitalization compared to a 32% reduction (IRR=0.68; 95% CI: 0.53, 0.87; p=0.002) in early initiators of efgartigimod (pcomparison<0.001). Similar trends observed for other healthcare resource endpoints will additionally be reported.
Conclusions:
Patients who initiated ravulizumab or efgartigimod within 2 years of diagnosis had significant reductions in healthcare resource utilization. However, those who started on ravulizumab had statistically significantly greater reduction. Timely initiation of potentially disease-modifying targeted treatments, such as C5 inhibitor therapy, may have implications for reducing healthcare resource utilization in patients with gMG.
Disclaimer: Abstracts were not reviewed by Neurology® and do not reflect the views of Neurology® editors or staff.