The aim of this study was to perform a 1-yr trial-based cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of tiotropium versus salmeterol followed by a 5-yr model-based CEA.The within-trial CEA, including 7,250 patients with moderate to very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was performed alongside the 1-yr international randomised controlled Prevention of Exacerbations with Tiotropium (POET)-COPD trial comparing tiotropium with salmeterol regarding the effect on exacerbations. Main end-points of the trial-based analysis were costs, number of exacerbations and exacerbation days. The model-based analysis was conducted to extrapolate results to 5 yrs and to calculate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs).1-yr costs per patient from the German statutory health insurance (SHI) perspective and the societal perspective were J126 (95% uncertainty interval (UI) J55-195) and J170 (95% UI J77-260) higher for tiotropium, respectively. The annual number of exacerbations was 0.064 (95% UI 0.010-0.118) lower for tiotropium, leading to a reduction in exacerbation-related costs of J87 (95% UI J19-157). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was J1,961 per exacerbation avoided from the SHI perspective and J2,647 from the societal perspective. In the model-based analyses, the 5-yr costs per QALY were J3,488 from the SHI perspective and J8,141 from the societal perspective.Tiotropium reduced exacerbations and exacerbation-related costs, but increased total costs. Tiotropium can be considered cost-effective as the resulting cost-effectiveness ratios were below commonly accepted willingness-to-pay thresholds.KEYWORDS: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, costs, exacerbations, model, qualityadjusted life year, trial T he current international guidelines for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) recommend regular treatment with a long-acting anticholinergic drug (tiotropium) or a long-acting b-agonist (salmeterol, formoterol or indacaterol) for patients with moderate to very severe COPD [1]. These bronchodilators have been shown to improve symptoms, health-related quality of life and lung function, and reduce exacerbations and hospitalisations [2][3][4]. However, guidelines do not give a preference for either drug class. Until the publication of the Prevention of Exacerbations with Tiotropium (POET)-COPD trial, head-to-head comparisons were limited, had a short duration and/or were underpowered to detect a difference in COPD exacerbations [5,6]. The 1-yr POET-COPD trial was designed to compare the effects of tiotropium 18 mg once daily or salmeterol 50 mg twice daily on the occurrence of moderate or severe exacerbations in patients with moderate to very severe COPD and a history of least one exacerbation in the previous year [7]. This clinical trial demonstrated that tiotropium prolonged the time to first exacerbation (hazard ratio (HR) 0.83, 95% CI 0.77-0.90) and the time to first exacerbation leading to hospitalisation (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.61-0.85), and reduced the total number of exacerbations (...