Tirzepatide, Semaglutide Not Cost-Effective at Current Prices
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, March 19, 2025 -- Tirzepatide and semaglutide offer long-term health benefits but are not cost-effective, according to a study published online March 14 in JAMA Health Forum.
Jennifer H. Hwang, D.O., from the University of Chicago, and colleagues compared the cost-effectiveness of four antiobesity medications with lifestyle modification versus lifestyle modification alone in a lifetime cost-effectiveness analysis. Data were included from 4,823 individuals, aged 20 to 79 years, from the 2017 to 2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who would meet clinical trial inclusion criteria for antiobesity medications.
The researchers found that tirzepatide and semaglutide would avert 45,609 and 32,087 obesity cases per 100,000 individuals, respectively, and would reduce 20,854 and 19,211 incident cases of diabetes per 100,000 individuals and 10,655 and 8,263 cardiovascular disease cases per 100,000 individuals. Among all antiobesity medications, the largest incremental quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gains were 0.35 and 0.25 for tirzepatide and semaglutide, respectively, and the corresponding incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were $197,023 and $467,676/QALY. Prices would require additional discounts of 30.5 and 81.9 percent for tirzepatide and semaglutide, respectively, from the current net prices in order to reach the $100,000/QALY threshold. Due to its lower cost, naltrexone-bupropion was cost-saving and had an 89.1 percent probability of being cost-effective at $100,000/QALY compared with a 23.5 percent probability for phentermine-topiramate. Across all QALY threshold ranges examined, tirzepatide and semaglutide had 0 percent probability of being cost-effective.
"Efforts to reduce the net prices of new antiobesity medications are essential to ensure equitable access to highly effective antiobesity medications," the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to Arnold Ventures.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted March 2025
Read this next
Few Adolescents With Obesity Prescribed Obesity Medications
FRIDAY, June 13, 2025 -- Despite an increase in the prevalence of prescribing, only 0.5 percent of U.S. adolescents with obesity were prescribed an obesity medication in 2023...
Real-World Weight Loss With Semaglutide, Tirzepatide Less Than That Seen in Clinical Trials
THURSDAY, June 12, 2025 -- For patients with obesity initiating pharmacotherapy with semaglutide or tirzepatide, weight loss at one year is 8.7 percent on average, which is lower...
Adherence to Healthy Diet Improves Cardiometabolic Risk, Even Without Weight Loss
WEDNESDAY, June 11, 2025 -- A healthy diet improves cardiometabolic risk factors, even if not associated with weight loss (WL), according to a study published online June 5...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.