Clinical and economic evaluation of camrelizumab use as first-line therapy for non-small cell lung cancer in the Russian Federation

Frolov M. Yu.¹

Rogov V. A.¹

Salasyuk A. S.¹

1Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education «Volgograd State Medical University» of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Russia, 400066, Volgograd, Ploshchad Pavshikh Bortsov, 1

Maxim Y. Frolov; e-mail: maxim.frolov@internet.ru

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The financial support for this study did not influence the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript writing, or the decision to submit the article for publication.

This study was supported by Petrovax.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and economic rationale for the integration of camrelizumab as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adult patients without EGFR/ALK/ROS1 mutations and with any level of PD-L1 expression in the Russian healthcare system. Methods. Data were obtained from the randomized CameL and CameL-sq clinical trials, as well as other international RCTs evaluating PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, domestic epidemiological studies and real-world clinical practice. Given the comparable overall survival, progression-free survival, and objective response rates across studies, a cost-minimisation analysis was performed. A budget impact analysis was conducted over a 24-month time horizon, taking into account patient flow patterns, treatment costs, registered prices of vital and essential medicines, and various camrelizumab uptake scenarios. Results. The total cost of a full course of camrelizumab therapy was 33–200% lower than the cost of regimens utilizing other PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. In the budget impact analysis, the introduction of camrelizumab led to a reduction in total two-year healthcare expenditures by 7.36–7.59 billion rubles (savings of 17.8–18.0%). A one-way deterministic sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the model as ±10% variations in key parameters did not alter the conclusion that camrelizumab was economically preferable. Conclusion. The use of camrelizumab as first-line treatment for NSCLC provides comparable clinical efficacy and substantial cost savings compared to alternative PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. These results confirm the economic rationale for camrelizumab use and highlight its potential to expand patient access to immunotherapy within the Russian Federation.

non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC, camrelizumab, PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, immunotherapy, cost minimization analysis, pharmacoeconomics, budget impact analysis, budgetary impact, clinical comparability, VED, first line therapy, real clinical practice, oncology, economic efficiency

10.29234/2308-9113-2025-13-4-17-41

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