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6ER-038 Can we reduce costs with the use of aflibercept 8 mg in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NAMD) and diabetic macular oedema (DME)? An economic analysis from Spain

ejhpharm · 2026-03-18 · canonical JSON source

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Background and Importance Treatment burden in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic macular oedema (DME) is an issue for patients and healthcare systems in Spain. 1 Newly approved treatment options, such as aflibercept 8 mg, have the potential to be administered at longer treatment intervals and reduce treatment burden and cost.Aim and Objectives Estimate the overall treatment costs and economic savings with the use of aflibercept 8 mg (AFL-8) compared to faricimab 6 mg (FAR) and aflibercept 2 mg (AFL-2).Material and Methods Clinical trial data of phase III studies PULSAR, PHOTON (AFL-8), ALTAIR (AFL-2) were used to determine the mean number of injections through 2 years. We selected the comparator arm or study with the best response in terms of treatment extensions. A cost-minimisation analysis was performed considering the drug cost and costs related to monitoring and administration for FAR, AFL-2 and AFL-8. For pharmacological cost, the list public price in Spain available at the Comisión Interministerial de Precios de Medicamentos was used: 742€, 843€, and 843€ for AFL-2, FAR and AFL-8, respectively. For FAR, the lowest list price was considered. The calculated administration and monitoring cost is 277€ per injection, the same for all treatments and indications.100% adherence was assumed.Results The mean number of injections/year was 5.45, 5.50 and 4.0 for AFL-2, FAR and AFL-8, respectively. The total annual cost, including both pharmacological and administration costs, was 5,556€, 6,163€ and 4,483€ for AFL-2, FAR and AFL-8, respectively. We calculated that the use of AFL-8 if 100 eyes were treated, represents potential cost savings of 19.3% (107,348€) compared to AFL-2, and 27.3% (168,094€) compared to FAR.Conclusion and Relevance Treatment with AFL-8 allowed for the extension of treatment intervals in clinical trials and appears to be potentially the most economical option for the treatment of nAMD and DME. AFL-8 has the potential to meaningfully reduce costs by decreasing the number of injections and associated visits, and these findings reinforce AFL-8 as potentially the most efficient treatment option.References and/or Acknowledgements 1. Pina Marín B, Gajate Paniagua NM, Gómez-Baldó L, Gallego-Pinazo R. Burden of disease assessment in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration in Spain: results of the AMD-MANAGE study. European Journal of Ophthalmology 2022;32(1):385–394. https://doi.org/10.1177/11206721211001716Conflict of Interest Corporate sponsored research or other substantive relationships: Bayer