Study Shows Bevacizumab and Ranibizumab Equally Effective in Stabilizing Visual Acuity Loss

Intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin, Genentech, Inc.) and ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech, Inc.) appear to be equally effective in stabilizing visual acuity loss in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to data from a retrospective study.¹

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente Southern California (Pasadena, CA) followed 342 patients treated with bevacizumab and 128 patients treated with ranibizumab between 2005 and 2008. The bevacizumab patients were younger (78 vs 82 on average), and 83% of the ranibizumab patients were 75 or older, compared with 70% of the bevacizumab group.

At 12 months, the bevacizumab patients received 4.4 injections and the ranibizumab patients had 6.2 injections; 22.9% of the bevacizumab group and 25% of the ranibizumab group had visual acuity of 20/40 better. In addition, 27.3% of the bevacizumab patients and 20.2% of the ranibizumab patients experienced improvement in their vision.

“This study showed that in a ‘real world’ practice environment of treating patients with wet macular degeneration, both drugs were equally effective in improving vision as wells as stabilizing vision,” study author, Peter Custis, MD, said in an interview with Retina Today.

While there was not a statistically significant difference between the two treatment approaches in the study, Dr. Custis said selection bias could mask a true treatment difference due to the nonrandomized nature of the study.

Results from the Comparison of the AMD Treatments Trials (CATT), a prospective randomized controlled study, expected to be released in 2011, will provide more definitive information regarding the comparative effectiveness of the two drugs, said Dr. Custis, the Assistant Chief of Ophthalmology, San Diego Region, Southern California Kaiser Permanente. The CATT study is being sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

Ranibizumab, which was developed specifically for treatment of wet AMD, received FDA approval in 2006. Bevacizumab was developed as a cancer treatment and is widely used off-label for the treatment of AMD. Much of the debate over the drugs involves cost, as ranibizumab costs about $2,000 per injection compared with about $50 for bevacizumab.

“We believe this study serves to validate the opinions and comfort many physicians already have regarding their use of bevacizumab; however it may not necessarily change the minds of those physicians who favor ranibizumab and who are awaiting CATT results sometime next year,” Dr. Custis said.

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Study Shows Bevacizumab and Ranibizumab Equally Effective in Stabilizing Visual Acuity Loss

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