The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) recently issued a Final Evidence Report accessing the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of anabolic agents for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, including teriparatide and abaloparatide. NOF leadership and colleagues representing the National Bone Health Alliance (NBHA) provided input and shared ideas and potential concerns with ICER during its months-long review process and at a public meeting of the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), which deliberated and voted on evidence presented in the ICER report.
NOF recognizes and ardently supports the need to make anabolic therapies available and affordable for patients. It is critical that physicians and patients have access to important new therapies to determine the best course of treatment for each individual. In fact, in a recent NOF survey of 2,200+ patients and caregivers, 98 percent said access to all available osteoporosis treatments was important to them. Of this same patient population, 43% had been prescribed two or more medications for osteoporosis during their treatment, underscoring the unique circumstances for many osteoporosis patients whose fracture risk and type of treatment may change over time.
NOF recognizes the higher relative costs of using current anabolic agents that was identified by ICER. We are pleased that ICER recognized that research supports the need for anabolic treatment for those at very high risk of fracture.
“Evidence suggests that, for the right patients, both teriparatide and abaloparatide provide benefit over no treatment, but the limited availability of data from head-to-head trials makes it difficult to ascertain whether the agents are more effective than existing alternatives, such as bisphosphonates,” noted David Rind, MD, MSc, Chief Medical Officer of ICER in a press release. “More research is needed on the most clinically important outcomes, particularly hip fractures, along with further data on patient-centered outcomes to understand the full impact of anabolic therapies.”
NOF supports the need for additional research to have sufficient data to effectively compare the anti-fracture benefits of anabolic therapies to bisphosphonates. NOF will continue to work with clinicians, researchers, and specialty societies in the bone health field to advocate for additional clinical trials and data. In addition, as the voice of the osteoporosis patient, NOF will intensify its efforts to provide and promote patient-centered outcomes in both research and education.