Dr Jessica Allegretti on Cost-effectiveness Implications of Rebyota Approval for the Prevention of Recurrent CDI

Unlike other off-label therapies used previously for the prevention of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), Rebyota’s FDA approval in this space can lead to improved coverage from payers and less financial toxicity down the line for patients and health systems, said Jessica Allegretti, MD, MPH, medical director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Transcript

What managed care implications may the approval of Rebyota have regarding health care resource utilization and cost savings as recurrent CDI is known to cause significant health care spend?

I think this is certainly going to be very interesting with regards to cost-effectiveness. We know that these patients often end up in the hospital. They require multiple rounds of antibiotics. They often require procedures and lab assessments. And so I think, overall, this is going to be better for patients.

This is also an FDA-approved therapy, so payers will cover this therapy. Unlike FMT [fecal microbiota transplantation], as we currently have it, which is a non–FDA-approved product, as many providers will know, this is not generally covered by insurance. And so oftentimes patients are paying out of pocket for this or your hospital is eating the cost.

So, I think overall for the system to have something that we can engage with the payers on, hopefully, will be affordable on the patient side, and certainly we'll be interested to see where the price points come in, as I have not heard anything yet so I can't comment on that. But I think overall, this is going to be a move in the right direction as we're going to be able to treat patients earlier and prevent further recurrences down the line.