ABSTRACT
The objectives of the study are to develop a cost-effectiveness model comparing biological therapy (BT) with methotrexate (MTX) alone, in the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), combining clinical and quality-of-life data from international trials with local costs and local epidemiological data. We designed a six-month cycle Markov model with five functional states, based on Health Assessment Questionnaire, with patients initiating treatment in any of the predefined states, based on a sample of 150 local RA patients. Simulations ran for 10 and 20 years, and for the whole life span. Utilities, in quality-adjusted life years (QALY), were taken from international literature. Discount rate was 3 % for costs and utilities. We calculated direct and indirect costs using a combination of international and local data. Results are presented as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER). ICERs in euros per QALY were