# Estimating the Economic Impact of Levalbuterol’s Potential Transition From the National Reimbursement Drug List for the Treatment of Pediatric Asthma in China: A Budget Impact Analysis

## TL;DR

This study estimates the economic impact of levalbuterol's inclusion in China's drug reimbursement list for treating pediatric asthma.

## Contribution

The novelty lies in estimating the budget impact of levalbuterol's inclusion in China's NRDL for pediatric asthma treatment.

## Key findings

- Levalbuterol's inclusion in the NRDL led to cost savings of ¥82.8 million over three years in base-case analysis.
- Scenario analysis showed savings decreased to ¥76.1 million over three years.
- Results were robust to changes in input parameters according to sensitivity analysis.

## Abstract

Background

Levalbuterol is a short-acting β2-agonist (SABA) indicated for treating or preventing asthma exacerbation. It was included in the 2020 Chinese National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL). This study estimates the economic impact of levalbuterol’s status change within and withdrawal from the NRDL in treating pediatric asthma from a publicly funded medical insurance perspective.

Methodology

A prevalence-based budget impact model was developed. The analysis compared a world with a levalbuterol scenario to a world without levalbuterol. Epidemiological data were obtained from the existing literature. Cost data were estimated based on the drug dosage in clinical trials, real-world settings, and expert opinions. Scenario analysis considered the same length of stay (LOS) in the two groups. One-way sensitivity analyses were carried out to show the impact of varying individual parameters.

Results

In the base-case analysis, compared to the world without scenario, the preservation of levalbuterol resulted in cost savings of ¥82.8 million in China over three years. In the scenario analysis, savings decreased to ¥76.1 million over three years. Sensitivity analysis showed that, for the most part, the results were robust to changes in input parameter values.

Conclusions

Using levalbuterol may lead to substantial cost savings for Chinese society.