Edwards Lifesciences‘ (NYSE:EW) yesterday released data from an economic study of its Sapien 3 transcatheter aortic heart valve in intermediate risk patients, touting lower total one-year costs with the valve compared to surgical aortic valve replacements.
The Irvine, Calif.-based company said the economic analysis was the first-of-its-kind to report on patients who are at an intermediate risk for open-heart surgery.
The trial examined results and costs in more than 2,000 patients from both the Partner II A trial and Sapien 3 intermediate risk trial, Edwards said. Results from the trial showed lower total one-year average costs with the Sapien 3 versus standard surgical interventions at $80,977 and $96,489, respectively.
Data also indicated lower average index hospitalization costs with the Sapien 3 versus surgery at $54,256 and $58,410 respectively. Contributing factors to the lower cost included reduced hospital stays, improved procedural efficiency, less repeat hospitalization and reduced rehabilitation time, Edwards said.
Edwards said that TAVR procedures with the Sapien 3 added 0.27 quality-adjusted life years per patient and savings of approximately $10,000 compared to surgery over a patient’s lifetime.
“Based on both clinical and economic considerations, these findings demonstrate that TAVR should be the preferred strategy for patients with severe aortic stenosis at intermediate surgical risk. Taken together with previous data demonstrating excellent clinical outcomes and significantly improved quality of life with TAVR, this latest study shows that TAVR with the Sapien 3 valve also provides important short and long-term economic advantages compared with surgery,” Dr. David Cohen of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, who presented the study results, said in a press release.
Also included in the trial was an analysis of the Sapien XT valve compared to surgery, which found that TAVR procedures with the Sapien XT to be economically superior to open surgery. Improvements to quality-adjusted life expectancy and lower long-term costs than surgery were also noted, according to the study data.
Late last month, results from a new study comparing outcomes from TAVR procedures with Boston Scientific‘s (NYSE:BSX) Acurate Neo and Edwards Sapien 3 were found to be similar at 30 days.
