A comparison of costs for four oral antidiabetic regimens within a managed care population.

A retrospective database analysis compared costs among patients with type 2 diabetes receiving four antidiabetic regimens: (1) repaglinide monotherapy, (2) metformin monotherapy, (3) repaglinide and metformin in combination, or (4) metformin and glyburide in combination. Pharmacy, medical, and total costs were measured for each cohort over a nine-month period. Although not statistically significant, total adjusted costs were lowest for the repaglinide-metformin combination ($8,924), followed by metformin monotherapy ($9,448), metformin and glyburide ($9,576), and repaglinide monotherapy ($11,910). These results must be confirmed in larger populations, but they imply that differences in pharmacy costs of repaglinide-metformin therapy are offset by measurable medical cost savings.