Lucentis®
Lucentis® (ranibizumab) is a prescription medication used to treat age-related macular degeneration. This drug, made by Genetech, Inc., is designed and FDA approved to specifically treat the wet form of AMD. In a clinical study, about 95% of patients found that their vision stayed the same and 40% of patients found that their vision improved.
How the treatment is administered
First your eye will be cleaned, dilated, and numbed. Lucentis will then be injected into your eye (this is called an intravitreal injection). This treatment is usually administered on a monthly basis or less often. You should have someone drive you home after the injection because your eyes will be very sensitive to light from being dilated.
How the treatment works
Wet AMD is caused by new blood vessels growing into and underneath the retina near the macula. These blood vessels can be fragile and may leak blood into the macula, causing damage to it. A naturally occuring protein, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A), encourages the growth of these brittle vessels.
Lucentis is designed to bind VEGF-A proteins to keep them from promoting new blood vessel growth. This helps to slow, stop, or even reverse vision loss.
Avastin®
Avastin® (bevacizumab) is a prescription medication very similar to Lucentis. This drug is also made by Genetech, Inc. It was designed to treat colorectal cancer by inhibiting the protein released by cancerous cells that promotes blood vessel growth, vascular epidermal growth factor (VEGF). Although the two drugs' molecules are different they work very similarly to block VEGF from promoting abnormal blood vessel growth under the retina. Users of Avastin report vision improvement similar to those using Lucentis.
The use of Avastin in the eye is considered "off label". It is legal in North America, Europe, and Asia and is widely accepted by physicians, healthcare providers, and some insurers. The major benefit of Avastin to Lucentis is its affordability. You should check with your insurance to make sure they will cover off-label use of this drug before choosing this treatment.