Economic evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis of genomic medicine interventions in developing and emerging countries

The application of pharmacogenomic-guided medical interventions are currently in great demand. Yet economic evaluation and cost-effectiveness data, if available, are even scarcer for the developing world, and as such, great data variability is obtained when low- to high-income countries are considered. In this chapter, we attempted to review the available economic evaluation studies concerning developing and emerging countries worldwide. Europe serves as a model for illustrating that despite recent advances in genomic medicine and health economics, pharmacogenomics is still in its infancy for the majority of low-resourced and developing European countries. The examples presented here suggest that pharmacogenomic economic evaluation studies must be replicated in every country for policymakers to be informed, prior to the implementation of a pharmacogenomic-guided medical intervention, and following its evaluation of cost-effectiveness based on characteristics specific to each country. For this to occur, despite limited resources, generic economic models are required to allow the input of certain key variables, such as allele frequency, test, and treatment costs that vary by country. Such models are also discussed herein.