Pharmacy benefit manager Prime Therapeutics (Prime) announced the results of a study on the utilization of Strattera(R) (atomoxetine) for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
The study found that children who start on Strattera were 4.2 times more likely to change their therapy than children who started on stimulants.
Due to these results and unique Strattera safety concerns, Prime has developed programs that promote the use of a stimulant drug prior to the use of Strattera. The results of this study will be presented at the 19th Annual American Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Conference on April 13 in San Diego.
Because of Prime’s close working relationship with many large health plans, Prime is uniquely positioned to analyze both pharmaceutical and medical data to closely monitor drug safety, efficacy, costs and prescribing practices. Prime pays close attention to the ADHD drug category because of safety concerns and the prevalent use of these drugs for treatment of children.
Prime’s study involved the integration of medical and pharmacy claims for children in 2004 and 2005 from one Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan with 1.8 million members. The study analyzed the use of Strattera and stimulants in children to determine how often children switched therapies. Strattera was found to be the first drug tried in one out of five children newly initiating therapy. The results showed that children who start on Strattera were 4.2 times more likely to subsequently change therapy than children who started on stimulants.
“We believe that children who start on Strattera are more likely to change therapies because they are experiencing side effects or the drug is not working effectively,” said Patrick Gleason, PharmD, Director of Pharmacy and Medical Integration at Prime. “Because stimulants have been around longer and are available in generic forms, physicians and medical care providers have a lot more experience with them. They generally cost less and they don’t have the suicidal ideation black box warning that Strattera has.”
Gleason said the results suggest that when considering the unique Strattera safety concerns and possible lower effectiveness, stimulants may be a better, cost-effective alternative.