FDA approves Lucentis for vision loss-related disease

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug made by Genentech for treating a disease of the eye, the Roche subsidiary said Tuesday.

The FDA approved Lucentis (ranibizumab) for macular edema following retinal vein occlusion. RVO affects more than 1 million people in the United States, usually those older than 50, and is a common cause of vision loss. The FDA approved Lucentis in 2006 as a treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, another common cause of vision loss.

“This approval provides an important new medicine for people experiencing the unexpected vision loss associated with macular edema following RVO,” Genentech EVP global development and chief medical officer Hal Barron said. “In the Lucentis RVO clinical trials, significantly more people treated with monthly Lucentis showed sustained vision improvement during the six-month study with an effect seen as early as seven days.”