Project update: March 2025
We are pleased to bring you the 4th VALUE-Ig update with a brief update on project progress.
Due to the time needed to establish our research team, develop the VALUE-Ig datasets, and accommodate staff leave arrangements, we have applied for a one-year extension to the grant timeline. If our application is successful, the project is expected to conclude on 31 March 2027.
Research updates
Haematological malignancy
We have been analysing Victorian hospitalisation data from the Centre for Victorian Data Linkage (CVDL) for this cohort, and several manuscripts are currently being prepared for publication. Specifically, our research investigates the circumstances leading to hospitalisation due to infections in patients with multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), as well as the reasons these patients commence immunoglobulin (Ig) replacement therapy.
Abstracts have recently been submitted to the Blood and Australian Health Economics Society conferences by our PhD student, Rainier Arnolda—one focused on predicting infection risk in multiple myeloma patients, and another estimating infection-related hospitalisation costs associated with multiple myeloma. Additionally, PhD student Sara Carrillo de Albornoz has prepared an abstract estimating hospital costs for patients with CLL and is finalising two manuscripts: one examining Ig treatment patterns and infections in CLL, and the second one on hospital costs, the abstract above is based on.
Dr Laura Fanning has also been developing a discrete choice experiment (DCE) that seeks to understand patient preferences for treatments that help to prevent infections, including antibiotics and immunoglobulins. The survey will help us understand what factors are most important to patients when considering starting or changing treatments to prevent infections.
Myasthenia gravis (MG)
We have been conducting the VALUE-MG study in collaboration with MGBase to prospectively enrol patients and collect additional data to better understand the value of immunoglobulin (Ig) therapy for individuals with myasthenia gravis (MG). This non-interventional study aims to capture key patient-reported outcome measures as part of routine clinical care.
Alfred Health has enrolled over 50 participants so far, while the Brain and Mind Centre in Sydney has recruited 26 patients. Recruitment has recently commenced at Eastern Health and Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane will begin recruitment shortly.
Dr Yif’at Biran, the project coordinator for VALUE-MG, will present the VALUE-MG study at the upcoming Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) international conference on Myasthenia and Related Disorders. Dr Gozde Aydin will also attend the MGFA conference, presenting findings from the recent focus group sessions that informed the co-design of a discrete choice experiment exploring treatment preferences among MG patients.
We expect this project to run until June 2026, and we will provide updates every six months. Please reach out to us via email at value.ig@monash.edu if you have questions or suggestions.
Other
The VALUE-Ig study also includes other patient cohorts, including primary immunodeficiencies and solid organ transplant recipients. For these cohorts, we will use the CVDL Victorian hospital data in combination with the VALUE-Ig dataset.
Contact
If you have any queries about the study or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact the team at value.ig@monash.edu
Prof Dennis Petrie
Centre for Health Economics, Monash University
On behalf of the VALUE-Ig team.