Omalizumab Associated With Reduced HCRU and Disease-Related Costs for Food Allergies and Asthma
Key Takeaways:
- Omalizumab is associated with lower health care resource utilization (HCRU) for patients with food allergies and comorbid asthma and food allergies. Emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and outpatient visits substantially decreased after omalizumab introduction.
- Omalizumab is associated with lower care costs relating to food allergies and asthma. ED and outpatient condition-based costs were greatly reduced.
- Total care costs per patient significantly increased after omalizumab initiation due to the price of the medication, highlighting the need for improved access.
Studies have shown that people with comorbid asthma and food allergies are more likely to experience adverse outcomes for both conditions.
Xolair (omalizumab) is a biologic used to treat moderate to severe asthma in children and adults. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the use of Omlyclo (omalizumab) as an interchangeable biosimilar to reduce reactions due to food allergies.
While the efficacy and safety of omalizumab have been recorded, its real-world effect on HCRU and care costs has not yet been studied. Researchers sought to close this gap by comparing HCRU and costs before and after the introduction of omalizumab. The study used IQVIA PharMetrics Plus claims data to identify 523 patients with asthma and food allergies who received omalizumab between 2018 and 2022.
Omalizumab Reduces HCRU
The study found that ED visits significantly decreased 12 months after the introduction of omalizumab. Food allergy-related visits decreased from 12.4% to 4.8%; asthma and food allergy-related visits decreased from 25.0% to 15.5%; all-cause visits decreased from 44.6% to 30.2%.
There were also substantial reductions in hospitalization. Food allergy-related hospitalizations decreased from 1.5% to 0.2% (overall reduction by 86.7%); asthma and food allergy-related hospitalizations decreased from 12.3% vs 7.4% (overall reduction by 65.6%); all-cause hospitalizations decreased from 13.2% to 7.5%.
Omalizumab was associated with decreases in outpatient visits as well. Food allergy-related visits decreased from 62.7% to 36.5%; asthma and food allergy-related visits decreased from 94.6% to 87.2%; all-cause visits had similar rates before and after omalizumab introduction.
Omalizumab Reduces Costs Relating to Food Allergies and Asthma
Care costs accumulated during ED visits greatly decreased. Per-patient ED costs for food allergies decreased from $183 to $85; costs for both asthma and food allergies decreased from $636 to $375; all-cause ED costs decreased from $1530 to $918.
A similar trend was observed for costs associated with hospitalization. Per-patient hospitalization costs for food allergies decreased from $242 to $45, and costs for both asthma and food allergies decreased from $1082 vs $115. All-cause hospitalization costs, however, increased from $4359 to $5250, although this may be due to a small percentage of patients experiencing longer stays.
Costs associated with outpatient visits significantly decreased after omalizumab initiation. Per-patient costs for food allergies decreased from $320 to $224; outpatient costs for both asthma and food allergies decreased from $878 to $750; all-cause outpatient costs had no significant difference.
Although omalizumab is associated with lower care costs relating to food allergies and asthma, total care costs per patient significantly increased. Care costs relating to comorbid asthma and food allergies increased from $5966 to $34 927. All-cause care costs increased from $24 874 to $56 542. These increases in costs are driven by the price of omalizumab.
Implications for Managed Care
The study shows how the use of omalizumab could significantly lower medical visits and care costs for patients with food allergies and asthma, which could improve management of both conditions and lead to better outcomes.
According to the researchers, “Our study results provide valuable and timely evidence that omalizumab has the potential to reduce the acute care utilization in patients with comorbid asthma and FA.”
Reference
Bird JA, Near AM, Wang J, et al. Health care resource utilization of patients with asthma and food allergy initiating omalizumab. J Allergy Clin Immunol Global. 2025;4(3):100491. doi:10.1016/j.jacig.2025.100491
