Short-Term Cost-Effectiveness of Bisphosphonate Therapies for Postmenopausal Osteoporotic Women at High Risk of Fracture

Managed care organizations (MCOs) are responding to rising pharmaceutical expenditures by imposing cost-containment measures, including the adoption of cost-effectiveness guidelines1,2 to assess the economic and clinical value of new therapies. Osteoporosis is a large and growing disease category for which cost-effectiveness analyses might help minimize total system costs. Our economic evaluation of bisphosphonate therapy found that the adoption of risedronate (Actonel®), compared with alendronate (Fosamax®) for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis patients at high risk of fracture, may produce lower costs and better outcomes over a three-year period. When patients are treated for three years with risedronate and the reduction in lifetime osteoporosis costs related to chronic disability is considered, the acquisition cost of risedronate to a MCO is fully offset.