VIDEO: First-line bevacizumab efficacious among patients with AMD
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The majority of patients with age-related macular degeneration benefitted from a regimen with bevacizumab as the first-line therapy, and in this video, Shriji Patel, MD, assistant professor of ophthalmology and co-fellowship director of vitreoretinal diseases and surgery at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute, explains why this study was undertaken and his thoughts for future research.
“We’re doing this because there’s been a lot of talk lately about this idea of doing step therapy, where insurance companies or Medicare could mandate what drug physicians would start patients on,” he said.
Bevacizumab is an off-label treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), whereas ranibizumab and aflibercept are FDA-approved treatments. However, there is no data yet to suggest that one of these regimens is more efficacious than the others, according to Patel.
“This is a retrospective analysis,” he noted. “Before we use this as a fulcrum to start making policies or applying this in a broad fashion, we really need prospective, well-controlled data.”
Reference
- Siktberg J, et al. Efficacy of Avastin Step-Therapy for Age-Related Macular Degeneration; June 12, 2020 (virtual meeting).
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