Genentech responds to physicians' concerns over compounding pharmacies decision

NEW ORLEANS — A Genentech spokesperson defended the company's decision to cease selling bevacizumab to compounding pharmacies here.

Amidst physician concerns of price and patient treatment, Dr. Desmond-Hellmann reiterated Genentech's position on distributing bevacizumab to compounding pharmacies.

In a special session at the Retina Subspecialty Day preceding the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, the company's president of product development, reiterated that the company did not intend to interfere with physicians' prescribing choice.

Many ophthalmologists use Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech) off-label to treat age-related macular degeneration.

"When we made our decision about the compounding pharmacies our belief then — and our belief now — is that physicians will still be able to obtain Avastin," she said.

Genentech has cited the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's concerns over the sterility and packaging of Avastin (bevacizumab) as its primary motivation behind the decision.

"We cannot jeopardize our commitment to tens of thousands of other patients by risking FDA action against us," Dr. Desmond-Hellmann said.

"We're willing to do everything possible to make sure patients have access to Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech)," she said. Like bevacizumab, Lucentis inhibits VEGF. However, as physicians at the session pointed out, Lucentis is much more expensive.

Daniel F. Martin, MD, a member of the session's panel, questioned Genentech's refusal to support the upcoming Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatment Trials (CATT) trial, which is expected to evaluate both bevacizumab and ranibizumab in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. The trial is jointly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the National Eye Institute.

"We are the only trial that is sufficiently powered to show a difference," Dr. Martin said.

Genentech will not support the CATT trial because ranibizumab has already been approved as a safe and effective treatment for AMD, Dr. Desmond-Hellmann said.

"We are challenged by the CATT trial because we feel that the need is met," she said.