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Cheapest glaucoma therapies unaffordable in developing countries
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NEW YORK — Timolol was the cheapest glaucoma therapy in 38 countries examined but was unaffordable for patients in several developing countries throughout the world, according to a study presented here.
Researchers used drug databases, government pricing data, physician fee schedules and direct communication with local ophthalmologists to learn the prices of topical glaucoma medications, laser trabeculoplasty and trabeculectomy in 17 developed nations and 21 developing nations, Brian Stagg, MD, said at the American Glaucoma Society annual meeting.
Therapies were defined as being affordable if they cost less than 1% of the country’s median annual household income. If they were more expensive than 1% of the median annual household income, they were defined as unaffordable, Stagg said.
Prostaglandin analogues were the most expensive drops in 34 of the 38 countries.
“There were huge variations in the affordability of timolol. There was an 83-fold difference from the most affordable to the least affordable countries. In the developing countries, timolol was not affordable in half of the countries on this list,” Stagg said.
Trabeculectomy was affordable in only Norway and Germany and unaffordable in the remaining 36 countries, Stagg said.
In most developing countries, there were either no affordable glaucoma therapies or the only affordable therapy for patients was timolol, he said.
“We need to identify and implement ways to make glaucoma interventions more affordable, especially in developing countries. This will involve working with multiple stakeholders. A few potential solutions are graduated pricing, finding ways to manufacture medications and supplies more cheaply, like done at Aravind, expanding the workforce, and improving access to procedures like laser trabeculoplasty,” Stagg said. – by Robert Linnehan
Reference:
Stagg B. A comparison of prices of glaucoma medications, laser trabeculoplasty, and trabeculectomy relative to median annual household income in 38 countries across the world. Presented at: American Glaucoma Society annual meeting; Feb. 28 to March 4, 2018; New York.
Disclosure: Stagg reports no relevant financial disclosures.