Resumen de Pharmaco-economics of drug addiction: estimating the costs of hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus infection among injecting drug users in member States of the European Union*

M. J. Postma, Lambert Wiesing, Johannes C. Jager

• The objective of the research described in the present article was to estimate the costs of hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection by intravenous drug use in countries of the European Union.

  The pharmaco-economic model applied linked incidence to lifetime cost estimates (incidence-based model). Estimates are presented within a broader framework of social costs.

  In the baseline, estimated costs of HCV, HBV and HIV infection related to drug addiction amount to 1.89 euros ( € ). In sensitivity analysis, costs up to € 2.57 are estimated (0.5 per cent of total European Union expenditures on health care).

  A preliminary estimate for the costs of HCV, HBV and HIV infection related to drug addiction in the European Union is provided. Those costs reflect a relevant share of total costs related to drug addiction.