Ophthalmology

In India, Razumab, manufactured by Intas Pharmaceuticals, was approved as a similar biologic to ranibizumab in 2015; the retrospective study RE-ENACT collected data and analyzed the effectiveness of this biosimilar product in the real-world setting in patients with age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, and retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

Eales disease (ED) is a common, idiopathic, inflammatory retinal vasculitis that particularly affects young adults. Current treatments available for ED include corticosteroids, laser photocoagulation, retinal cryotherapy, and surgery, but a recent study found that using intravitreal bevacizumab injections may produce better outcomes and reduce the need for surgery.

In a new paper, researchers sought to describe how much the European Union is overspending on neovascular age-related macular degeneration treatment by relying on ranibizumab and aflibercept rather than bevacizumab in ophthalmology.

Data suggest that intravitreal bevacizumab increases the risk of thromboembolism, and some studies have raised the possibility of a link between bevacizumab and myocardial infarction (MI), while other studies did not find such a relationship.

Last week, an overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigating systemic adverse events associated with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatments was published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

One week after intravitreal bevacizumab injection, corneal endothelial cells showed no sign of inflammation or any other complications, according to a study published in BMC Ophthalmology.

While corticosteroids are a common treatment for uveitis, effective corticosteroid-sparing therapies are necessary to maintain disease control without risking corticosteroid-related adverse events.

Intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (Avastin) has revolutionized the treatment of diabetic eye disease, and has emerged as an important treatment modality, either as primary or adjuvant therapy for diabetic macular edema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals and Mylan have announced that they will begin a pivotal clinical trial of their jointly developed M710, a proposed biosimilar of the anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy aflibercept, referenced on Eylea.

A recent study examined whether the use of the anti–tumor necrosis factor agent infliximab could reduce the death of photoreceptors after retinal detachment in an experimental mouse model.

Lucentis (ranibizumab) faces oncoming competition from 4 companies that are developing proposed biosimilars.

German drug maker Formycon released its third quarter financial results on Monday, and reported that it plans to launch its biosimilar ranibizumab candidate, FYB201, in the United States in 2020.

Current regulations discourage the use of the more cost-effective bevacizumab and lead to unequal patient access to higher-cost ranibizumab and aflibercept.

Roche’s sales of ranibizumab (Lucentis), already depleted by competition from such products as afilbercept (Eylea), face upcoming erosion from biosimilar competition.