LUCENTIS®

Lucentis is a drug used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It is also used to treat diabetic eye disease and other problems of the retina. It is injected into the eye to help slow vision loss from these diseases.

Lucentis is the brand name for the drug, which is called ranibizumab. It blocks the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the back of the eye. Those blood vessels can leak and affect vision, causing vision loss from wet AMD and diabetic eye disease. Other conditions such as a retinal vein occlusion or histoplasmosis can also be treated with Lucentis.

Avastin (bevacizumab), is another drug like Lucentis. Avastin was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat different types of cancer. Its use to treat eye disease is considered an drug use if doctors are well informed about the product and studies prove the drug is helpful. Many studies have shown Avastin as safe and effective for eye disease since it was first used in 2005.

Research shows that Lucentis and Avastin are both effective in slowing vision loss.