Comparative cost-effectiveness analysis of therapy with sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in patients with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk or a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases in the Russian healthcare system

Aim. To conduct a comparative cost-effectiveness analysis of therapy with sodiumglucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and high cardiovascular risk in the Russian Federation.

Material and methods. Given the comparable clinical efficacy of these drug classes for the major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), as confirmed by systematic reviews, a cost-minimization approach was chosen for the analysis. Annual costs were calculated for agents from the list of vital and essential drugs for a target population of 2,74 million patients.

Results. The average annual cost of therapy with SGLT2 inhibitors was RUB 29973,53 and was more than 2 times lower than the cost of therapy with GLP-1 agonists (RUB 66594,10). Using SGLT2 inhibitors across the entire target population will save RUB 100,33 billion per year (the costs of GLP-1 therapy are higher then 122%) with comparable clinical efficacy.

Conclusion. Based on comparable clinical efficacy and significant cost advantage, SGLT2 inhibitors can be recommended as priority therapy in Russian clinical practice to reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with T2D.

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