Infliximab was the first approved biologic treatment for moderate to severe Crohn's disease (MS-CD) in China. However, the cost-effectiveness of infliximab maintenance therapy (IMT) for MS-CD relative to conventional maintenance therapy remained unclarified.
To assess the cost-effectiveness of IMT for MS-CD in Chinese patients from the perspective of Chinese public insurance payer.
A cohort of MS-CD patients managed in a Chinese tertiary care hospital was created to compare IMT with conventional maintenance therapy (CMT) for clinical outcomes and direct medical costs over a 1-year observation time using conventional regression analyses. A decision-analytic model with the generated evidence was constructed to assess the cost-effectiveness of IMT relative to CMT using reimbursed medical costs.
Based on the included 389 patients, IMT was associated with significantly higher disease remission chance [odds ratio: 4.060, 
IMT significantly improved real-world health outcomes and cost the Chinese public health insurance payers less than one GDPPC to gain one QALY in Chinese MS-CD patients.