(dailyRx)
A two year study has pitted Avastin and Lucentis against each other. After the first year, the results are a photo finish.
Lucentis is 40 times more expensive than Avastin but the study finds no measurable increased benefit from prescribing Lucentis.
The American Opthalmological Society was noncommittal as the study is not complete. Lucentis has not been taken out of contention as preferential for patient’s with age-related macular degeneration nor was Avastin assured a preferential status.
One caveat: Lucentis is already FDA-approved for treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration while Avastin is prescribed on an off-label basis.
Dr. David M. Brown, retinal surgeon at The Methodist Hospital and overseer of this 2 year study, affirms that the off-label use of Avastin for wet AMD is exciting because it provides significant cost savings.
Brown looks forward to the second year of the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials (CATT) study to assess whether the anatomic superiority of Lucentis seen in the first year will continue in longer term visual outcomes.
Genentech is the maker of both drugs. Avastin was created to prevent blood vessel growth that help cancerous tumors to create and flourish. The first year of this study indicates it is effective for wet AMD as well.
The Study
- NEI launched CATT in 2008 to compare Lucentis and Avastin for treatment of wet AMD
- 1,185 wet AMD patients treated at 43 clinical centers in the United States
- Study compared four different regimens randomly assigned
- Outcome measured visual acuity in each group
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the the leading cause of blindness in the United States, with over 1.5 million adults over age 50 suffering vision loss because of it. It is anticipated that over 17 million people will have moderate to severe AMD by the time the next decade arrives.
AMD is categorized into two conditions, dry and wet. In dry AMD, the light gathering cells in the macula (a small area of the retina that allows humans to focus with high acuity) slowly degenerate. In wet AMD small blood vessels start to overgrow underneath the macula. And they break or leak, causing fluid to move the macular cells from their optimal position.