NEI releases results from AMD treatment trial

SAN FRANCISCO — Bevacizumab and ranibizumab were found to be almost identical treatment options for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, according to a conference call and press release from the National Eye Institute.

The Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatment Trials (CATT) were launched in 2008 by the National Eye Institute to compare Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech) and Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech) for AMD treatment.

"At 1 year, Lucentis and Avastin were equivalent for visual acuity at all time points when administered in the same dosing regimen," Dan Martin, MD, study chair for CATT, said during the conference call.

The results, published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine, report results for 1,185 patients treated at 43 clinical centers across the United States. Patients were randomized to receive either monthly or as-needed injections of bevacizumab or ranibizumab for 1 year.

Visual acuity results, the primary trial outcome, for either drug when given monthly or as needed were within one letter difference on an eye chart, the release said.

Both drugs also significantly and immediately reduced fluid in the retina, Dr. Martin said. However, as-needed dosing required four to five fewer injections per year when compared with monthly dosing.

"I would say that both [dosing regimens] could be considered the standard of care. Both are viable options. ... What this study has done has informed that choice," Dr. Martin said.

Concerning serious adverse events, the risks of death, myocardial infarction and stroke were the same for both drugs.

CATT researchers will follow patients for another year of treatment to study longer-term effects of the drugs.