Suvorexant initiation reduces resource use and costs for insomnia patients in the USA

Abstract

The initiation of suvorexant [Belsomra; Merck] treatment appears to result in immediate and continued decreases in healthcare resource use (HCRU) and costs in insomnia patients in the USA, according to the results of a study funded by Merck, Sharp and Dohme.The researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study that used de-identified medical and pharmacy claims data from the US nationwide Optum Clinformatics Data Mart claims database of adults diagnosed with insomnia between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2018 newly initiated on suvorexant (prevalent and incident insomnia were examined separately). The outcomes of interest were changes in all-cause HCRU and associated direct medical and nonmedical costs * (calculated at monthly intervals) from 12 months before to 12 months after suvorexant initiation.In total, the study included 18,919 patients with prevalent insomnia and 5939 patients with incident insomnia. For the prevalent insomnia group, the mean age was 64.5 years, 65% were female, 74% had Medicare coverage, and 61% had a Charleson comorbidity score of C1; these parameters were similar for the incident group. The trend for monthly total healthcare cost was increasing prior to suvorexant initiation ($US52.51 and $74.93 in the prevalent and incident groups, respectively); however, after suvorexant initiation, the monthly total costs showed a decreasing trend in both cohorts. The decrease in total healthcare costs after suvorexant initiation was equivalent to $72.66 and $112.07 per month in each group, respectively. The monthly trends in HCRU rates also decreased. The decreases were 1.5-3 times greater for patients with mental health comorbidities.