Anthropometrically derived dosing and drug costing calculations for treating visceral leishmaniasis in Bihar, India.
Olliaro P., Sundar S.
Objective and methodTo estimate drug costs of treating visceral leishmaniasis (VL) based on data on the VL population structure from the high-burden, antimony-resistant area of Northern Bihar, India.ResultsParomomycin is the cheapest option ($7450 to treat 1000 patients). Treating 1000 patients with oral miltefosine would cost $119,250 at the current private market price or $64,383-$75,129 at preferential public sector price depending on the size of the order. With AmBisome it would be $163,600 or $229,500 depending on the dose (10 or 15 mg/kg total). These costs are without considering other direct costs (daily intramuscular injections for 3 weeks for paromomycin; intravenous devices and hospitalization for AmBisome; directly observed treatment if applied for miltefosine) and indirect costs.ConclusionThese calculations provide useful basic information for projections.