FDA Approves New Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy

The FDA has approved Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) 0.3 mg for the monthly treatment of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Lucentis is the first and only FDA-approved drug to treat all forms of DR.

Lucentis was approved for the treatment of DR in individuals with diabetic macular edema (DME) in February 2015. The latest approval expands the drug’s indication to include patients without DME.
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In the analysis that supported the most recent approval, individuals with and without DME who received Lucentis experienced improvements in the severity of their retinopathy.

The most common eye-related adverse effects associated with Lucentis are redness in the white of the eye, eye pain, small specks in vision, and increased eye pressure. The most common non-eye-related side effects are nose and throat infection, headache, lung infections, and nausea.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

FDA approves Genentech’s Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) for diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness among working age adults in the United States [press release]. Genentech. April 17, 2017. https://www.gene.com/media/press-releases/14661/2017-04-17/fda-approves-genentechs-lucentis-ranibiz.