Adalimumab Shows Best Cost-Effectiveness Among Biologics for Hidradenitis Suppurativa: JAMA
A new study published in the Journal of American Medical Association showed that adalimumab consistently provided the best balance between treatment cost and clinical efficacy among licensed monoclonal antibody therapies for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) in a number of different nations.
A chronic inflammatory skin illness, hidradenitis suppurativa, is characterized by painful lumps, oozing lesions, and abscesses, especially in locations where skin rubs against one another. Although biologic medications can help people with moderate-to-severe HS, their high cost poses problems for both patients and healthcare systems. Now that a number of monoclonal antibody therapies have been licensed, it's critical to comprehend how their prices and therapeutic advantages stack up. Therefore, this study assessed the cost-effectiveness of licensed monoclonal antibody treatments for HS in various healthcare systems.
This economic analysis combines medication cost data from the US, Canada, France, Germany, and Australia with efficacy data from six phase 3 clinical studies using three authorized monoclonal antibodies: bimekizumab, secukinumab, and adalimumab. Prices were evaluated as of January 31, 2026. Based on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Clinical Response (HiSCR) 50 and HiSCR-75, which indicate at least 50% and 75% decreases in inflammatory lesions, respectively, researchers employed efficiency-frontier analysis.
In all 5 of the nations examined, adalimumab, when given at a dose of 40 mg per week, continuously stayed on the efficiency frontier for both HiSCR-50 and HiSCR-75 outcomes. This indicates that, in comparison to the alternatives, it offered a superior mix of clinical efficacy and treatment cost. Only after US wholesale purchasing costs were taken into account did secukinumab show up on the efficiency frontier.
The cost of treatment differed significantly between nations and drugs. Weekly adalimumab in Australia cost about $11,345 per year, whereas bimekizumab taken every two weeks in the US cost $411,990. Results from analyzes that controlled for variations in the severity of the illness at baseline were generally comparable.
Overall, adalimumab showed the most consistently positive cost-efficiency profile among presently licensed monoclonal antibody treatments for hidradenitis suppurativa in all of the healthcare systems that were analyzed. The results also show that the cost of biologic drugs varies significantly between countries. Cost-effectiveness does not, however, imply that adalimumab is the ideal course of action for every patient. When choosing a therapy, it is also necessary to take into account the severity of each patient's illness, prior treatment response, safety concerns, accessibility, and patient preferences.
Source:
Pham, J., Sholji, T., Aghajani, M., Kok, C., & Frew, J. W. (2026). Approved monoclonal antibody therapies for hidradenitis suppurativa. JAMA Dermatology (Chicago, Ill.). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamadermatol.2026.2633
