OBJECTIVES: Panitumumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody directed against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), is indicated as a monotherapy for the treatment of patients with EGFR-expressing CRCm and non-mutated KRAS status. The aim of this study was to conduct an economic evaluation of panitumumab vs cetuximab in Mexican patients with CRCm. METHODS: A cost minimization analysis (CMA) was performed from a Public Healthcare System perspective considering a 20-week timeframe. The analysis compared the treatment costs of CRCm patients with panitumumab and cetuximab. Only direct medical costs were considered. Drug cost for cetuximab was calculated according to Mexican Public Healthcare Sector acquisition price list for 2010. Panitumumab price for the Mexican Public Healthcare Sector was provided by Amgen Mexico ($94.36 MXP/mg). Recommended doses and frequency were based on each product label and the number of cycles was based on data from clinical trials. Anthropometric values were obtained from published data in Mexican Public Healthcare Sector oncology (CRCm) patients. The cost of administration was calculated from an official Mexican Public Healthcare Sector price list for 2010. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed considering two scenarios: per vial of drug (assuming wastage of unused medication) and per mg of drug (assuming no wastage). RESULTS: Panitumumab resulted in an overall monthly cost savings of 20% (per vial scenario) and 12.4% (per mg sceanrio) compared with cetuximab. When the analysis was restricted to the acquisition drug costs, monthly savings of panitumumab compared with cetuximab were estimated to be 19.1% and 11.2% in per vial and per mg scenarios, respectively. Regarding the sensitivity analysis, 100% of iterations resulted cost-saving in both scenarios (per vials and per mg). CONCLUSIONS: According to these results, panitumumab represents a cost-saving strategy vs cetuximab for the treatment of patients with CRCm in the Mexican setting.