[CUA analysis in new drug evaluation: a review of available tools]

Cost utility analysis (CUA) is a peculiar kind of efficacy evaluation. The outcome is the quality adjusted years of life derived by comparing an intervention versus a comparator. We review literature analyzing some criticism emerging from Cost Utility evaluation as selection bias or eventual methodological inconsistency. We applied this model to a new drug--Macugen--assessing an incremental cost of 7258.68 euro for a two years treatment schedule. Our analysis suggest that CUA is potential informative especially in certain context as prevention, but efficacy assessment and robust outcomes measuring is crucial.