Overview

• Both semaglutide and tirzepatide are cost-effective versus usual care for patients with knee osteoarthritis and obesity, according to an Annals of Internal Medicine analysis.
• In the primary non-surgical model, tirzepatide yielded 10.68 lifetime QALYs versus 10.48 for semaglutide and produced an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $57,400 per QALY versus usual care.
• Incremental comparisons favored tirzepatide over semaglutide at current net prices, delivering greater health gains at lower costs.
• For patients with BMI above 35 kg/m2, a secondary analysis indicated Roux-en-Y gastric bypass offered the best value at willingness-to-pay thresholds above about $30,700 per QALY.
• The Mass General Brigham–led study used the OAPol microsimulation with inputs from STEP and SURMOUNT trials, was funded by the Arthritis Foundation and NIH, and notes uncertainty from integrated data sources and assumptions about time on therapy.