OBJECTIVES: Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are conditions that are associated with significant clinical burden and impact patients’ functional status and quality of life. Medical costs related to treating these common and disabling conditions place an economic strain on health care systems. The aim of this assessment is to compare celecoxib against nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsNSAIDs) plus proton pump inhibitors (PPI) in five Latin American markets from the public payer’s perspective. METHODS: A cost-effectiveness evaluation was performed using a Markov modeling approach within a five-year time horizon (twelve-week cycles). The model compares celecoxib (200mg bid) against nsNSAIDs (naproxen 500mg/bid; diclofenac 100mg/bid) alone and combined with PPI (omeprazole 20mg/day). Model results were subdivided into two risk subpopulations: a) patients at low risk of GI and CV events (age 55+ with no prior risk factors); b) patients at high risk (age 65+ with previous risk factors).Efficacy and safety were retrieved from clinical literature (CONDOR Trial) and model uses Quality-Adjusted Life Years Gained (QALYs) as effectiveness measurement. Resource use and medical cost data was collected from local official databases and public hospital records from each LA market (expressed in 2012 US$). Costs and consequences were discounted at 5% annually and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were conducted. RESULTS: Celecoxib showed the highest health benefits (4.488 QALYs) compared to diclofenac (4.308 QALYs,+PPI 4.392 QALYs) and naproxen (4.241 QALYs, +PPI 4.355 QALYs). Regarding medical costs, in Brazil and Mexico celecoxib showed to be a cost-saving strategy within the high risk subpopulation. In other LA markets, celecoxib resulted as a cost-effective option with an average ICER of US$11,239.50 and US$8,046.20 in low and high risk subpopulations, respectively. PSA support robustness of the results. CONCLUSIONS: Despite higher acquisition cost compared to nsNSAIDs, celecoxib was found to be a cost-effective therapy for patients with OA and RA in multiple LA health care systems.