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A microsimulation mannequin was used to guage the cost-effectiveness of two glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RAs), semaglutide and tirzepatide, for sufferers with osteoarthritis and weight problems in contrast with typical care, weight-reduction plan and train, and weight reduction surgical procedures.
The research discovered that each semaglutide and tirzepatide can be cost-effective in contrast with typical care, with tirzepatide providing a extra favorable return on funding. The outcomes counsel tirzepatide can be extra economical than semaglutide at present internet costs. The research is printed in Annals of Inner Drugs.
Researchers from the Orthopedic and Arthritis Heart for Outcomes Analysis at Brigham and Ladies’s Hospital assessed the cost-effectiveness of GLP1RAs and different weight reduction interventions in sufferers with knee osteoarthritis and weight problems utilizing the Osteoarthritis Coverage (OAPol) Mannequin, a validated and broadly printed Monte Carlo microsimulation of knee osteoarthritis.
Mannequin parameters had been derived from the STEP (Semaglutide Therapy Impact in Individuals with Weight problems)-9 research. Main outcomes had been lifetime quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), medical prices in 2024 U.S. {dollars}, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs).
They examined six medical methods: typical care (UC), UC plus weight-reduction plan and train, UC plus semaglutide, UC plus tirzepatide, UC plus laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), and UC plus Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB).
For everybody on a weight reduction routine, the mannequin assigned a BMI and ache discount stage together with a chance of antagonistic occasions based mostly on printed medical trial information or secondary analyses of information from randomized medical trials.
The researchers derived weight reduction related to semaglutide from the STEP-5 and STEP-2 trials and weight reduction for tirzepatide from the SURMOUNT-4 (A Research of Tirzepatide in Individuals With Weight problems or Obese for the Upkeep of Weight Loss) and SURMOUNT-2 (A Research of Tirzepatide in Individuals With Kind 2 Diabetes Who Have Weight problems or Are Obese) trials.
Within the major evaluation excluding surgical methods, the researchers discovered that UC led to 9.59 QALYs in contrast with 9.75 for weight-reduction plan and train, 10.48 for semaglutide, and 10.68 for tirzepatide.
Including weight-reduction plan and train to UC resulted in an ICER of $25,400 per QALY, whereas including tirzepatide produced an ICER of $57,400 per QALY. Tirzepatide offered larger medical profit at decrease prices when analyzed incrementally in comparison with semaglutide.
Within the secondary evaluation, the researchers discovered that for individuals with BMI>35 kg/m2, RYGB would supply the perfect return on funding for cost-effectiveness thresholds above $30,700 per QALY, which can stem from the long-term weight upkeep seen after weight reduction surgical procedure in comparison with GLP1RA drugs.
These findings ought to inform discussions between clinicians and sufferers on the variations between these weight reduction interventions, their potential advantages and harms, and at present out there knee osteoarthritis care choices for individuals with BMI>30 kg/m2 and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.
Extra data:
The Value-effectiveness of Semaglutide and Tirzepatide for Sufferers with Knee Osteoarthritis and Weight problems, Annals of Inner Drugs (2025). DOI: 10.7326/ANNALS-24-03609
Offered by
American School of Physicians
Quotation:
Tirzepatide discovered to be less expensive than semaglutide in sufferers with knee osteoarthritis, weight problems (2025, September 15)
retrieved 15 September 2025
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