Results from an eight-year long clinical trial reportedly confirms the long-term effectiveness and safety of Avastin and Lucentis for treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Recently published online in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the trial first began in 2008 when the National Eye Institute (NEI) launched a comparison trial of Avastin (bevacizumab) — reportedly costing $50 a dose — and Lucentis (ranibizumab) — reportedly costing about $2,000 per dose — for the treatment of neovascular or "wet" AMD.
Researchers studied 1,200 patients with wet AMD using either drug and then followed up five years later with the 647 participants still living. They found 50 percent of eyes had 20/40 vision or better, and reportedly concluded that Avastin performed just as well as Lucentis for treating wet AMD.
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Source: American Academy of Ophthalmology