Muthu Vaduganathan Gives Insights on the Cost Effectiveness of SGLT2 Inhibitors

Managed Healthcare Executive editors spoke with Muthiah “Muthu” Vaduganathan MD, MPH, consultant cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a member of faculty at Harvard Medical School, about the cost effectiveness of SGLT2 inhibitors.

Vaduganathan discussed the increasing importance of cost effectiveness in treatment decisions, noting its incorporation into guidelines and the need for payers to understand the value of therapies. He explained that cost effectiveness varies by region due to differences in pricing and health systems.

While SGLT2 inhibitors have shown high value in Europe and Canada, their cost effectiveness in the US is moderate due to higher pricing, he said.

Vaduganathan discussed factors driving potential cost reductions, such as negotiations by CMS and approaching generic availability.

When asked about areas of savings and improved outcomes, Vaduganathan highlighted regions with lower SGLT2 inhibitor prices, such as Canada, where adding these drugs to medical regimens could offset costs through reduced hospitalizations and healthcare utilization.

Regarding the impact on individual and population treatment approaches, he anticipated widespread uptake of these therapies with improved affordability and accessibility.

“One of the primary reasons for that is that these therapies are commonly used across therapeutic disciplines — that many different clinicians are familiar with them, they're indicated for different disease states and they are also easy to practically implement,” Vaduganathan added.