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4CPS-034 Optimising resources with faricimab: real-world utilisation and savings from vial sharing

ejhpharm · 2026-03-18 · canonical JSON source

14 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Background and Importance Faricimab (Vabysmo) is increasingly used for retinal diseases in routine clinical practice. Hospital pharmacy departments need real-world evidence on utilisation patterns, persistence, and economic impact to optimise care and resources. This work summarises our centre’s experience.Aim and Objectives To evaluate the use of faricimab and its economic impact from the hospital pharmacy perspective.Material and Methods Observational, descriptive, retrospective study. We included all patients who initiated faricimab between January 2024 and June 2024, and followed them through March 2025. Variables: age, sex, diagnosis, dosing schedule, treatment-naïve vs pretreated status, and (for pretreated) last prior therapy. We assessed treatment persistence and cost savings from vial sharing under a laminar-flow hood in the Pharmacy. Data were extracted from the SAVAC e-prescribing system and the SELENE electronic health record and analysed in Access.Results We included 116 patients; 53.45% were women, mean age 72.99 ± 11.22 years. The most frequent diagnosis was age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (68.97%), followed by diabetic macular oedema (DME) (30.17%) and retinal vein occlusion (RVO) (0.86%). Most patients were prescribed monthly dosing (44.83%), then every 2 months (42.24%) and every 3 months (12.93%). Overall, 79.31% (n=92) were pretreated; prior therapies were aflibercept in 71.74% and ranibizumab in 28.26%. At analysis, 72% of patients remained on treatment. Probability of continuing treatment was 78% at 6 months and 70% at 12 months. By diagnosis, persistence differed significantly (p=0.028): for DME, 65% and 60% at 6 and 12 months; for AMD, 82% and 78% at 6 and 12 months. No significant differences were observed between naïve and pretreated subgroups. Vial sharing during 2024 and Q1-2025 yielded €221,535 in savings (consumables included).Conclusion and Relevance In our cohort, AMD was the predominant indication, with monthly and bimonthly schedules used most often—contrasting with pivotal trials where 4-monthly dosing predominated. Most patients had been previously treated, mainly with aflibercept. Persistence at 6 and 12 months was similar overall, with higher persistence in AMD than DME, and more than 70% of patients were still on treatment at data cut-off. Vial sharing in the pharmacy generated substantial cost savings for the health system.Conflict of Interest No conflict of interest