Research Mentor Name
Charles S. Day MD, MBA
Research Mentor Email Address
cday9@hfhs.org
Institution / Department
Henry Ford Health System
Document Type
Research Abstract
Research Type
clinicalresearch
Graduate Level Research
no
Abstract
Background
Previous studies have demonstrated that bevacizumab (Avastin) achieves comparable visual outcomes to branded agents such as aflibercept (Eylea), ranibizumab (Lucentis), and faricimab (Vabysmo), while offering a substantially lower cost. This study evaluates five-year prescription trends across three cohorts to identify changing utilization patterns. Real-world prescription behaviors enable this analysis to provide insight into clinical decision-making and to highlight opportunities to enhance value-based ophthalmic care.
Methods
A retrospective, descriptive analysis was conducted using electronic medical record data between 2020-2025. Three patient cohorts were identified based on anti-VEGF injection type and sequence:
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Cohort 1: Bevacizumab (Avastin) only
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Cohort 2: Bevacizumab (Avastin) prior to other anti-VEGF injections
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Cohort 3: Other anti-VEGF injections (Eyelea, Vabysmo, Lucentis, Byooviz)
100 patients were randomly selected from each cohort. Clinical data included date of each injection encounter and injection category. Demographic variables, specifically age, sex, race/ethnicity, and postal code were also collected.
Results
Data showed the average cost for bevacizumab (Avastin) was $22-$25 and branded agents were > $1,200. Bevacizumab monotherapy increased from 12% in 2020 to 70% in 2024, while exclusive branded agent use declined from 79% in 2020 to 10% in 2024.
Conclusion
Cost analysis confirmed Bevacizumab (Avastin) as the lowest-cost option compared with branded agents. Bevacizumab monotherapy increased steadily between 2020-2025, while exclusive branded agent use declined. This five-year analysis demonstrates a sustained use for bevacizumab as a monotherapy and first-line anti-VEGF therapy, aligning with its comparable clinical efficacy and markedly lower cost relative to branded agents.
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
Recommended Citation
Noonan, Sarah BS; Dabajeh, Batoul BS; Tuttle, Richard BS; Yousef, Ahmad BA, MBA; Edwards, Paul MD; Jaje, Katherine MD; Lapointe, Deedra MHA; Culmone, Robert CPA; and Day, Charles S. MD, MBA, "Five-Year Prescription Trends in Anti-VEGF Utilization: A Randomized Sampling of Real-World Injection Patterns" (2026). Medical Student Research Symposium. 500.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/som_srs/500