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First-line biological therapy with etanercept and methotrexate does not appear to be cost effective compared with triple therapy in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to findings of a cost-utility analysis of data from the 48-week RACAT (Rheumatoid Arthritis Comparison of Active Therapies) study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.1
A within-trial analysis of RACAT trial data and a decision-analytic model were used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of first-line treatment with etanercept + methotrexate compared with triple therapy with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (cDMARDs; sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine and methotrexate) in patients with active RA unresponsive to methotrexate monotherapy, from Medicare and societal perspectives over 24-week and 50-year (lifetime) time horizons. Patients in the RACAT trial could switch...