Cost and Availability of Antiviral Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Vietnam: A Nationwide Retrospective Study

Tóm tắt

Hepatitis B remains a significant global health burden, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to analyse the cost and availability of hepatitis B treatment drugs in Vietnam. This retrospective cross-sectional study analysed data from successful bids for hepatitis B antivirals in Vietnam between 2018 and 2022, including 1,963 drug packages from 242 bidders across 61 provinces. We classified hepatitis B viral (HBV) drugs using the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Index with Defined Daily Doses (DDDs) and calculated average prices per DDD in USD. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel. We included in this analysis a total of 160.2 million DDDs of HBV drugs, totalling USD $43.2 million. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) was the most prescribed antiviral, accounting for 82.2% of total DDD, following by Entecavir (ETV) (9.8% of DDD) and Lamivudine (LMV) (6%). Overall, the price of HBV antivirals decreased steadily by approximately 11.67% per year during the study period, with TDF had the highest decrease by 23%. There were significant price variations or different antiviral drugs. TDF was the most commonly used medication with a reasonable price, while TAF's limited consumption may be due to its higher cost. With the transition from TDF to TAF, further research on cost-effectiveness is needed to optimise hepatitis B management. Policymakers can use these findings to improve accessibility and affordability of hepatitis B antiviral therapy in Vietnam.