Second trial finds Avastin and Lucentis similar for wet-AMD

One-year results from the UK.’s Inhibition of VEGF in Age-related Choroidal Neovascularisation (IVAN) study were presented at the Association for Research and Ophthalmology meeting being held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA , which showed that patients in Britain treated with the cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) did just as well as those treated with Lucentis (ranibizumab), which is marketed by Swiss drug major Novartis (NOVN: VX) and is approved for this indication, while Avastin is used off-label.

These findings complement similar conclusions  from the CATT two-year trial released last week (The Pharma Letter May 2), confirming that the much cheaper Avastin therapy for wet age-related macular degeneration (wet-AMD) is as effective as Lucentis. Neither Roche, the originator of both drugs, nor Novartis which markets Lucentis under license outside the USA, have carried out head-to-head studies of the products in wet AMD, but the price differentials have led to these latest studies by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research, which funded the IVAN study, and the USA’s National Eye Institute which did likewise for the CATT trial.

Having reviewed the IVAN study data, Novartis yesterday issued a statement noting that, although the IVAN trial will help contribute to the existing data for treating wet AMD, it is unable to fully answer questions around the efficacy and safety of unlicensed intravitreal bevacizumab for use in the eye. IVAN is not designed to the same standard as trials which are used to make regulatory decisions. The use of bevacizumab in the eye remains unlicensed and without a formal regulatory review and ongoing safety monitoring, as occurs with all licensed medicines, the company noted.