Aquarius has recently presented posters at international conferences (ISPOR, a conference for the leading professional society for health economics and outcomes research and EUROGIN, an international multidisciplinary HPV conference), exploring the impact of improving healthcare for two very different conditions: Dravet syndrome (rare debilitating epilepsy) and cervical cancer.
Dravet syndrome (DS) is a rare epileptic brain disorder diagnosed in early infancy and extending through adulthood and is characterised by frequent severe convulsive seizures. These often-daily seizure episodes are associated with cognitive, physical, behavioural, and sleep impairments that impact both the quality of life (QoL) of patients and their primary caregivers and family members.
Aquarius used data from clinical trials from pediatric patients and their caregivers to determine the relationship between seizures, seizure-free days (days where patients do not have any seizures), and other predictors of QoL. The results indicate that increasing the number of seizure-free days improves patients’ and carers’ QoL.
Aquarius developed a novel cost-effectiveness model to evaluate treatment options for this rare, life-threatening syndrome to reduce the burden of frequent seizures (which incurs significant resource use and cost) and increase the number of seizure-free days (increasing QoL). Our analysis shows that a new treatment for Dravet syndrome (fenfluramine) provides a clinically and cost-effective alternative to existing therapies approved by NICE.
Cervical cancer remains a common form of cancer in women, despite it being both preventable and curable, The World Health Organization has issued a global call to action to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030 through increased vaccination, screening, and treatment. To meet this goal, countries around the world are evaluating their cervical screening programmes. Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer. Consequently, decision-makers in many countries have, or are, considering implementing HR-HPV testing as part of cervical screening programmes. The choice of HR-HPV test (mRNA or DNA) can impact resource use and costs, follow-up testing and referrals for colposcopy.
Aquarius presented the results of our recent work in France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, and Canada at EUROGIN 2021. Across a diverse set of screening algorithms and populations, we found the choice of HR-HPV test can make a difference to costs and resource use and should be considered when making decisions at the national level.
To learn more about our work, please visit our website or email us at info@aquariusph.com.