Lucentis now FDA-approved to treat all forms of diabetic retinopathy

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) for the monthly treatment of all forms of diabetic retinopathy, reported Genentech, a subsidiary of Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX), which markets the drug in the USA.

The most common cause of vision loss in people with diabetes, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among adults aged 20 to 74 and affects nearly 7.7 million people in the USA.

With this approval, Lucentis becomes the first and only FDA-approved medicine to treat diabetic retinopathy in people who have been diagnosed either with or without diabetic macular edema (DME), a complication of diabetic retinopathy that causes swelling in the back of the eye. In February 2015, Lucentis received FDA approval for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy in people with DME based on data from the pivotal RIDE and RISE Phase III clinical trials. Lucentis generated sales of 1.41 billion Swiss francs ($1.40 billion) in 2016, down 10%.