2100% return on OCT research investment

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)-led study found savings of US$9 billion (AU$11.23 b) for the US Government – equivalent to a 21-fold return on investment. Meanwhile, patients thselves have also saved US$2 billion (AU$2.5 b) over the same period.ARVO senior manager of science communications Dr Matthew Windsor and his team drew the findings from an observational cohort study that covered data from Medicare claims filed for anti-VEGF drugs between 2013–2015.That data was then compared to the hypothetical spending of patients if they had been placed on fixed regimen anti-VEGF therapies.{{quote-A:R-W:450-I:2-Q: Innovative technology can significantly reduce healthcare costs and improve patient care. -WHO:Dr Matthew Windsor, ARVO senior manager of science communications}}The team posited that fixed-regimen only therapy for patients would have amounted to US$24.4 billion (AU$30.44 b) on anti-VEGF drugs, but OTC-guided personalised treatment allowed Medicare to save $10.3 billion from 2008–2015.Windsor pointed out that 83% of the savings were due to OCT-guided therapies which reduced ranibizumab injections.It was estimated OCT-guided therapies helped patients avoid 17.7 million anti-VEGF injections from 2008–2015.“Our paper is a rare example of being able to quantify the impact research can have, in this case via reduced healthcare spending. We have shown that return on research investment can be very high,” study co-author Dr David Huang said.Estimated spending of $800 million (AU$998 m) on the use of OCT imaging to guide the treatment over this time, in addition to US$400 million (US$499 m) on basic and clinical research to develop the technology, allowed the researchers to arrive at their figure of US$9 billion (AU$11.23 b).“Innovative technology can significantly reduce healthcare costs and improve patient care and we hope that highlighting the impact of OCT on patient health and public spending encourages further government investment in biomedical research – even in these budget-constrained times,” Windsor added.