Hope for Age Related Macular Degeneration with Lucentis
Genentech Inc. has applied for U.S. (FDA) approval to market its drug Lucentis for the treatment of wet, age-related macular degeneration, the leading causes of blindness in the elderly.
Genentech requested priority basis review which if approved will give FDA six months to decide on drug approval.
Lucentis, if approved, will compete with Visudyne, made by Canada's QLT Inc., and Macugen, made by Pfizer Inc. and OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Genentech's application is based on the results of late-stage clinical trials which showed that 95 percent of patients treated with Lucentis either maintained or improved their vision compared to 64 percent of those taking Visudyne.
Age-related macular degeneration affects about 1.7 million people in the United States. While the dry form of the disease is the most common, accounting for about 90 percent of all cases, the wet form is the most devastating.
Patients can go blind within a matter of days of developing the condition, caused by the build-up and rupture of too many blood vessels behind the eye.
Source: CNN
Filed under Eye Treatment, Macular Degeneration
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January 17th, 2008 at 4:59 am
Is er ook al een geneesmiddel voor droge macula-degeneratie verkrijgbaar???
April 13th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
This drug has been approved for use now in many countries. It is a major advancement.
The CDR here in Canada has just recommended that the provincial health care programs throughout Canada should provide coverage for this drug.
However, I do question why Lucentis & Avastin are priced so differently.