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. 2023 Apr;25(4):961-964.
doi: 10.1111/dom.14940. Epub 2022 Dec 27.

Tirzepatide versus semaglutide for weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A value for money analysis

Joseph Azuri  1   2 , Ariel Hammerman  3 , Enis Aboalhasan  4 , Ben Sluckis  5 , Ronen Arbel  3   4
Affiliations

Tirzepatide versus semaglutide for weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A value for money analysis

Joseph Azuri et al. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Aims: Higher doses of the glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist semaglutide and, more recently, tirzepatide, a dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist showed a significant reduction in body weight in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, their comparative value for money for this indication is unclear. Therefore, we aimed to establish which provides better value for money.

Materials and methods: We calculated the cost needed to treat to achieve a 1% reduction in body weight using high-dose tirzepatide (15 mg) versus semaglutide (2.4 mg). The body weight reductions were extracted from published results of SURMOUNT-1 and STEP 1 trials, respectively. In addition, we performed a scenario analysis to mitigate the primary differences between the two study populations. Drug costs were based on US GoodRx prices as of October 2022.

Results: Using tirzepatide resulted in a weight loss of 17.8% (95% CI: 16.3%-19.3%) compared with 12.4% (95% CI: 11.5%-13.4%) for semaglutide. The total cost of 72 weeks of tirzepatide was estimated at $17 527 compared with $22 878 for 68 weeks of semaglutide. Accordingly, the cost needed to treat per 1% of body weight reduction with tirzepatide is estimated at $985 (95% CI: $908-$1075) compared with $1845 (95% CI: $1707-$1989) with semaglutide. Scenario analysis confirmed these findings.

Conclusions: Tirzepatide provides better value for money than semaglutide for weight reduction.

Keywords: cost-effectiveness; obesity therapy; type 2 diabetes; weight control.

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References

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