OBJECTIVES: Type 2 diabetes patients treated with human premix insulin (with or without conventional oral antidiabetic agents) were converted to biphasic insulin aspart 30 (BIAsp 30) in PRESENT, a single-arm observational study conducted in China (n=2289). Patients showed a reduction in HbA1c of 1.82% points and reduced rates of hypoglycemic events (1576 to 476 per 100 patient years) three months after therapy conversion. METHODS: A published and validated computer simulation model of diabetes (CORE Diabetes Model) was used to project short-term results obtained from PRESENT to estimate long-term clinical and cost outcomes for patients switching from human premix insulin to BIAsp 30 in a Chinese setting. Chinese patient characteristics and mortality were derived from published sources and primary research was performed to estimate costs of treating complications and management practices in a Chinese setting. Probabilities of complications were derived from landmark clinical and epidemiological studies. Total direct costs (complications + treatment costs) were projected over patient lifetimes for BIAsp 30 and current standard practice (baseline values). Future costs and clinical benefits were discounted at 3% annually. RESULTS: Short-term therapy benefits associated with BIAsp 30 versus human premix (improvement in HbA1c levels and a decrease in hypoglycemic events) were projected to increase life expectancy by 0.632 years and improve quality-adjusted life expectancy by 1.022 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) (7.664 ± 0.111 versus 6.641 ± 0.092 QALYs). BIAsp 30 reduced total direct costs by RMB 7,484 (RMB 230,926 ± 4,676 versus RMB 238,410 ± 4,970) due to decreasing the cost of treating diabetes-related complications (RMB 118,936 versus 147,449). CONCLUSION: The results indicated that BIAsp 30 is dominant (less cost with more health benefit) versus human premix in the treatment of type 2 diabetes patient in a Chinese setting, with lower direct costs and superior patient outcomes due to reductions in diabetic-related complications.