Cost per Patient Achieving Treatment Targets and Number Needed to Treat with Tirzepatide Versus Semaglutide 1 mg in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in the United States

Reema R Mody; Kellie L Meyer; Jennifer M Ward; Ken B O'Day

doi:10.1007/s13300-023-01470-w

Cost per Patient Achieving Treatment Targets and Number Needed to Treat with Tirzepatide Versus Semaglutide 1 mg in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in the United States

Diabetes Ther. 2023 Dec;14(12):2045-2055. doi: 10.1007/s13300-023-01470-w. Epub 2023 Sep 28.

Authors

Reema R Mody¹, Kellie L Meyer², Jennifer M Ward³, Ken B O'Day⁴

Affiliations

¹ Value, Evidence, and Outcomes, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA. mody_reema@lilly.com.
² Evidence Generation and Value Communications, AmerisourceBergen, Conshohocken, PA, USA.
³ Diabetes and Obesity, Value, Evidence and Outcomes, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
⁴ Evidence Synthesis and Modeling, AmerisourceBergen, Conshohocken, PA, USA.

Abstract

Introduction: Achieving glycemic control can help reduce complications of type 2 diabetes (T2D). This study compared the pharmacy cost per responder and number needed to treat (NNT) of tirzepatide 5 mg, 10 mg, and 15 mg versus semaglutide 1 mg to achieve glycemic, weight loss, and composite treatment endpoints in patients with T2D in the United States.

Methods: The proportions of patients achieving glycemic, weight loss, and composite treatment endpoints were obtained from the phase 3 SURPASS-2 randomized clinical trial which compared tirzepatide 5 mg, 10 mg, and 15 mg to semaglutide 1 mg. Annual pharmacy costs were calculated using 2022 wholesale acquisition costs. Cost per responder and NNT were calculated along with 95% confidence intervals and tests for statistical significance (P ≤ 0.05).

Results: Tirzepatide had a lower cost per responder to achieve glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) endpoints of ≤ 6.5% (10 mg and 15 mg doses) and < 5.7% (all doses) and weight loss endpoints of ≥ 5% (10 mg and 15 mg doses), ≥ 10% (all doses), and ≥ 15% (all doses). The cost per responder to achieve HbA1c < 7% (all doses of tirzepatide) and ≤ 6.5% (5 mg tirzepatide) were not statistically significantly different between tirzepatide and semaglutide 1 mg. The cost per patient to achieve the composite endpoints (HbA1c < 7.0%, ≤ 6.5%, or < 5.7%/weight loss ≥ 10%/no hypoglycemia) was statistically significantly lower for all doses of tirzepatide than for semaglutide 1 mg. The NNTs for all doses of tirzepatide were statistically significantly lower than that for semaglutide 1 mg to achieve all individual and composite endpoints, with the exception of the 5 mg dose for HbA1c < 7.0% and HbA1c ≤ 6.5%, where tirzepatide had numerically lower NNTs that were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Tirzepatide is a novel glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist (RA) that may offer the potential to achieve stringent glycemic goals, weight loss targets, and composite treatment goals at a lower cost per responder compared to semaglutide 1 mg among people with T2D.

Keywords: Cost; Cost per responder; Cost-effectiveness; Diabetes mellitus, type 2; Number needed to treat; Semaglutide; Tirzepatide; United States.