Roche’s Avastin Treatment Effective for Blindness
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Roche Holding AG’s Avastin was as effective as the company’s more costly Lucentis for treating the most common cause of blindness in the elderly, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Patients given Avastin, a cancer drug not approved for the disease, had a similar improvement in vision as those given Lucentis, which was developed for the condition known as wet age-related macular degeneration, or AMD. Vision improved by 8 letters on an eye chart for patients given Avastin, compared with 8.5 letters for those on Lucentis, the study found.