The switch could also save patients $5 billion in insurance copayments, according to a new study in Health Affairs. Ranibizumab, more commonly known by its brand name Lucentis, is delivered as an injection to the eye and runs about $2,023 per dose.Many patients require up to 12 injections per year. That's why some doctors choose to prescribe the much cheaper drug Avastin (bevacizumab) instead, which costs around $55 per dose.n 2010, the combined cost of using Avastin and Lucentis to treat eye disorders was around $2 billion — or about one-sixth of the entire Medicare Part B drug budget.