Background and objective: We report our initial experience with intravitreal bevacizumab-bvzr, a bevacizumab biosimilar approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2019 and recently introduced by our institution for off-label ophthalmologic use in children.
Patients and methods: This was an Institutional Review Board-approved single-institution retrospective case series of pediatric patients 21 years or younger who received at least one intravitreal injection of biosimilar bevacizumab-bvzr.
Results: Twelve eyes of 9 patients were identified as having received intravitreal bevacizumab-bvzr, with a total of 13 injections performed. Indications for injection included retinopathy of prematurity (7/13), choroidal neovascularization (3/13), retinal vein occlusion (2/13), and Coats disease (1/13). Following injection of bevacizumab-bvzr, all patients experienced a positive clinical response. No occurrences of postinjection inflammation, intraocular pressure anomalies, or endophthalmitis were observed with a median follow-up of 18 weeks.
Conclusion: In the absence of controlled studies, this case series supports the use of intravitreal bevacizumab-bvzr as an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy option, including in the pediatric population and resource-poor settings. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2023;54:84-88.].