Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: The rapid emergence of novel anti-obesity pharmacotherapies has raised methodological questions regarding the most appropriate modelling approaches to estimate their long-term clinical and economic values . This targeted literature review (TLR) evaluated the pharmacoeconomic frameworks used in published economic evaluations of novel anti-obesity agents over the past decade.
METHODS: A TLR was conducted using PubMed to identify economic evaluations of anti-obesity pharmacotherapies in the last 10 years. Records related to non-pharmaceutical interventions, non-obesity population or studies without an economic model were excluded. Additionally, systematic literature reviews (SLRs) were retained to support identification of additional relevant studies. Studies focused on obesity subgroups with major comorbidities (e.g., diabetes) were excluded.
RESULTS: A total of 679 records were identified, 38 met the inclusion criteria. Markov cohort models and individual-level micro-simulation models were predominant modelling approaches. Micro-simulations were more frequently used when evaluating multiple treatment comparators (i.e., > 3 treatments) or capturing patient heterogeneity. Most studies stratified subgroups by age, whereas relatively few studies incorporated ethnicity, comorbidity status or gender. No eligible studies evaluated pediatric populations, reflecting the predominance of non-pharmaceutical intervention, particularly public health programmes, in this setting.
CONCLUSIONS: Economic evaluations of anti-obesity pharmacotherapies have largely adopted Markov cohort and micro-simulation approaches, with limited evidence of broader system-level modelling. As obesity treatment pathways have become more complex, future research should assess whether existing modelling frameworks adequately capture long-term outcomes and patient heterogeneity.