Eylea and Eylea HD Dosages: Your GoodRx Guide

Eylea (aflibercept) and Eylea HD are injectable medications that treat certain eye-related conditions. Since they’re injected by a healthcare professional, they follow a different dosing schedule than most other medications. Understanding the recommended Eylea dosage can help you know what to expect and get the most from your treatment. In this guide, we’ll cover typical Eylea and Elyea HD dosages, including how often you’ll receive the injections and what to do if you miss a dose.

What’s the typical Eylea dosage for adults?

Eylea is injected into the eye by a specially trained ophthalmologist (eye doctor). You’ll likely receive these injections at your eye doctor’s office or a medical clinic.

The recommended Eylea dosage depends on the condition you’re treating. We’ve also included the recommended dosages for Eylea HD — a high-dose (HD) version of Eylea.

Wet age-related macular degeneration

For wet age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), the typical Eylea dosage is 2 mg every 4 weeks (28 days) for the first 12 weeks (3 months). After that, you’ll receive 2 mg every 8 weeks in most cases. But some people may still need an injection every 4 weeks after the first 12 weeks.

After 1 year, your prescriber may reduce the frequency of your injections to once every 12 weeks. But this isn’t considered as effective as the usual 8-week dosing schedule.

The recommended Eylea HD dosage for nAMD is 8 mg injected every 4 weeks for the first 3 doses. After that, you’ll receive an 8 mg injection once every 8 to 16 weeks.

Macular edema following retinal vein occlusion

If you have macular edema (swelling of the retina) following retinal vein occlusion, the recommended Eylea dosage is 2 mg injected once a month (about every 25 days).

Eylea HD isn’t approved for this condition.

Diabetic macular edema or diabetic retinopathy

For macular edema or retinopathy caused by diabetes, the usual Eylea dosage is 2 mg injected every 4 weeks (28 days) for the first 5 doses. You’ll then receive a 2 mg injection every 8 weeks thereafter in most cases.

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The recommended Eylea HD dosage for diabetic macular edema is 8 mg injected every 4 weeks for the first 3 doses. After that, you’ll receive an 8 mg injection once every 8 to 16 weeks. For diabetic retinopathy, the starting Eylea HD dosage is the same as for macular edema. But after that, you’ll receive an 8 mg injection once every 8 to 12 weeks.

What’s the typical Eylea dosage for children?

Eylea is approved to treat retinopathy of prematurity in infants. This is a condition that can happen in infants who are born early or weigh less than 3 lbs at birth. The recommended Eylea dosage for this condition is 0.4 mg as a single injection. If needed, treatment can be repeated after at least 10 days.

Eylea HD isn’t approved for children at this time.

Can you give yourself Eylea injections?

No, you can’t give yourself an Eylea injection. Some types of injections can be safely done at home, but Eylea isn’t one of them.

Eylea is an intravitreal injection, which means it’s injected into the fluid (vitreous humor) inside your eye. Eylea injections must be administered by a healthcare professional with special training, such as an ophthalmologist or retina specialist. The idea of an eye injection may make you feel uneasy. But you’ll receive medication to numb your eye and prevent infection first, so they’re usually painless.

Eylea can cause blurry vision and make you more sensitive to light right after it’s injected. So you should plan on having someone else take you home after your injections and bring some sunglasses to wear.

After the injection, your ophthalmologist will monitor your progress and schedule follow-up appointments to check your eyesight and ensure the treatment is working as expected.

What happens if you miss a dose of Eylea?

In most cases, it isn’t a big deal if you receive your Eylea injection a few days earlier or later than usual. But missing your injection altogether can leave your eye condition undertreated, which could affect your vision.

If you know you’re going to miss your injection appointment, call your prescriber’s office right away to reschedule. It’s also a good idea to schedule your next appointment while you’re in the office for your current dose. This can help you stay on top of your doses.

Since you only receive Eylea and Eylea HD doses once every month or two, it can be easy to forget them. A calendar alert or a medication reminder app are easy tools to help you remember your injection appointments.

How to save on Eylea

There are ways to save on Eylea and Eylea HD, which are available as reference (brand-name) biologics. GoodRx can help you navigate between copay savings cards and patient assistance programs to save money on your prescription.

• Save with a copay savings card. If you have commercial insurance, you may be eligible to pay as little as $0 for each Eylea or Eylea HD injection using a savings card from the manufacturer.

• Save with patient assistance programs. If you’re uninsured or underinsured, you may be eligible for Eylea and Eylea HD’s patient assistance program, which offers the medication free of cost.

• Save with biosimilars. Biosimilars are products that have similar safety and efficacy as their reference biologic. Eylea has several approved biosimilars, including Pavblu (aflibercept-ayyh), Enzeevu (aflibercept-abzv) and Ahzantive (afliberceptr-mrbb). There are also two FDA-approved interchangeable biosimilars: Opuviz (aflibercept-yszy) and Yesafili (aflibercept-jbvf). Your prescriber can work with you and your insurance to see if an Eylea biosimilar may be a cost-saving option for you.

Good to know: Eylea and Eylea HD are administered in a healthcare setting. So they’re not prescriptions you’ll pick up at your local pharmacy. And in some cases, they may be covered by your medical insurance plan instead of your pharmacy insurance plan. Your prescriber’s office can help you determine the best way to access Eylea and apply any available savings.

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Written by:

Patricia Weiser, PharmD

Patricia has 16 years of pharmacist experience. She previously held positions as a community pharmacist, pharmacy manager, and hospital pharmacist.

Edited by:

Stacia Woodcock, PharmD

Stacia Woodcock, PharmD, is a pharmacy editor for GoodRx. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Kentucky and is licensed in New York and Massachusetts.

Reviewed by:

Christina Aungst, PharmD

Christina Aungst, PharmD, is a pharmacy editor for GoodRx. She began writing for GoodRx Health in 2019, transitioning from freelance writer to editor in 2021.

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