Type 2 diabetes mellitus is becoming a serious health problem in Europe, proving a constant drain on healthcare resources, with total direct treatment costs associated with the disease consuming up to 10% of national healthcare budgets. Pioglitazone ['Actos'], one of the new thiazolidinedione class of oral antidiabetic drugs, has recently been approved for use in Europe in combination with a sulphonylurea or metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes. Five studies presented at the 4th Annual ISPOR*Meeting [Cannes, France; November 2001] evaluated the cost effectiveness of pioglitazone in the management of patients with type 2 diabetes in several European countries.1-5All five studies were conducted by investigative teams from Eli Lilly and Company and the Institute for Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Switzerland, and received financial support from Eli Lilly and Company, UK.