Avastin could save the USA $29 billion if used instead of Lucentis

Using Avastin (bevacizumab) from Swiss drug major Roche (ROG: SIX) instead of Lucentis (ranibizumab) from fellow Swiss company Novartis (NOVN: VX) could save the USA $29 billion over 10 years, according to new research.

The article in Health Affairs found that the two drugs to treat diabetic macular edema and neovascular age-related macular degeneration, leading causes of blindness, have increased over the past few years to account for one-sixth of the USA’s Medicare Part B drug budget.

The report authors predicted 10 year population-level costs and health benefits of both, stating: “The two drugs have similar efficacy and potentially minor differences in adverse-event rates; however, at $2,023 per dose, ranibizumab costs 40 times more than bevacizumab. Our results show that if all patients were treated with the less expensive bevacizumab instead of current usage patterns, savings would amount to $18 billion for Medicare Part B and nearly $5 billion for patients. With an additional $6 billion savings in other health care expenses, the total savings would be almost $29 billion.”