Alkermes Presents New Data Analysis on Healthcare Resource Use Among Veterans with Alcohol Dependence
June 30, 2021 at 07:00 am
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Alkermes plc announced the presentation of new health economics and outcomes research related to healthcare resource use among veterans with alcohol dependence at the 2021 Research Society on Alcoholism Scientific Meeting/International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism Conference, which took place virtually June 19-23, 2021. The company presented results from a retrospective, observational study using data from the Veterans Health Administration database, which includes healthcare encounters, treatments and laboratory tests at VHA facilities. The study assessed treatment patterns and HRU among 3,665 patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence who were treated with VIVITROL. In the study, VIVITROL treatment for alcohol dependence was associated with decreases in inpatient care and increases in outpatient care during the one-year period following initiation of treatment with VIVITROL, compared to the one-year period before VIVITROL treatment initiation. Specifically: During the baseline period, defined as the one year before VIVITROL initiation, 61.5% of patients had at least one inpatient admission, and 39.8 % of patients had an emergency department visit. During the follow up period, defined as one year after VIVITROL initiation, 37.8% of patients had at least one inpatient admission and 35.4% of patients had an emergency department visit. These HRU changes may reflect a possible transition to less resource-intensive care for veterans initiating VIVITROL. The generalizability of these results to the U.S. population may be limited. The company previously presented data from another retrospective, observational study using the same VHA database at the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, The Society of Federal Health Professionals, Annual Meeting in December 2020. That study was one of the first studies to provide insights into the patient journey among veterans from alcohol dependence diagnosis to VIVITROL initiation and beyond. Patients studied had extensive health care use and carried a high burden of chronic disease, including hypertension (40.5%), chronic pain (10.8%), and diabetes (9.7%). In addition, a majority had diagnoses for mental health comorbidities, such as depression (74.1%), non-alcohol/opioid substance use disorder (66.3%), and post-traumatic stress syndrome (52.9%). Key findings included: Although 25 % of patients initiated VIVITROL within 60 days of diagnosis, the average time from initial diagnosis to VIVITROL initiation was analogous to 13.6 months. While many of the patients studied (75.8%) received oral naltrexone prior to initiating VIVITROL, 22.0% initiated VIVITROL as first-line medication. Additionally, about half of the patients studied (46.6%) did not initiate other alcohol dependence medications during the study period following initiation of treatment with VIVITROL.
Alkermes plc is a global biopharmaceutical company that seeks to develop medicines in the field of neuroscience. The Company has a portfolio of commercial products for the treatment of alcohol dependence, opioid dependence, schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder and a pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates in development for neurological disorders. It focuses on commercial products, such as LYBALVI, ARISTADA/ARISTADA INITIO and VIVITROL, and advancing the development of pipeline programs focused on neurological disorders. LYBALVI is a once-daily, oral atypical antipsychotic drug for the treatment of adults with schizophrenia and for the treatment of adults with bipolar I disorder, as a maintenance monotherapy or for the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes, as monotherapy or an adjunct to lithium or valproate. ARISTADA is an extended-release intramuscular injectable suspension for the treatment of schizophrenia. It has a manufacturing facility in Wilmington, Ohio.