Use of the ACCES model to predict the health economic impact of celecoxib in patients with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis in Norway.

A Norwegian customization of the Arthritis Cost Consequence Evaluation System (ACCES) pharmacoeconomic model was used to predict the economic and health impact of the introduction of celecoxib in Norway. The model predicts that use of celecoxib can be expected to result in a reduction in gastrointestinal events with concomitant annual net savings of at least Norwegian krone (NOK) 580 per osteoarthritis (OA) patient and NOK 514 per rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient. In a cost-effectiveness analysis, celecoxib demonstrated economic dominance (i.e. improved health at reduced cost) compared with the currently available alternatives. In sensitivity analyses, the results of this model have been shown to be relatively robust, with celecoxib demonstrating economic dominance or favourable cost-effectiveness ratios in all analyses. Based on these data, it can be concluded that the introduction of celecoxib into the Norwegian non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug market, and its use as a first-line agent, will provide societal benefits by improving health care at reduced cost in patients with OA and RA.