Drug Discovery and Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Voices
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Ranibizumab May Reduce Blindness from Macular Degeneration

By Drug Discovery Trends Editor | June 13, 2011

A study suggests the drug ranibizumab is associated with reducing the magnitude of legal blindness and visual impairment caused by age-related macular degeneration.

“Before ranibizumab became available in 2006, neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was reported to be the leading cause of blindness in individuals 50 years and older in the United States and throughout many parts of the world,” the authors say.

To estimate the number of individuals who may benefit from treatment with ranibizumab to treat neovascular AMD and prevent AMD-related blindness, Neil M. Bressler, MD, of the Wilmer Eye Institute at The Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues designed a study using outcomes from three previous phase 3 ranibizumab trials.

Using statistics from the Beaver Dam Eye Study and data from the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau, the model predicted that 151,340 non-Hispanic white individuals in 2008 would develop neovascular AMD. Data from the study (a phase 3 ranibizumab trial) showed an estimated one-third of these cases (51,000 individuals) would have pre-existing choroidal neovascularization (new blood vessels form in the choroid, a thin vascular layer that supplies blood to the retina) in the opposite eye.

Ranibizumab would be accessible to 103,582 individuals, researchers estimated. Based on the model designed for the study, if no treatment were given to the 103,582 cases for which monthly ranibizumab was indicated, 16,268 would progress to legal blindness in two years.

The authors estimated that monthly ranibizumab usage would reduce the incidence of legal blindness in two years by 72% to 4,484 individuals. Based on the model designed for the study, if no treatment were applied to the 103,582 cases for which monthly ranibizumab is indicated and accessible, 34,702 would progress in two years to visual impairment. The authors estimated that monthly ranibizumab usage would reduce the incidence of visual impairment in two years by 37%, to 21,919 individuals.

The authors conclude that ranibizumab would have an effect on reducing the occurrence of visual blindness in individuals with AMD when treatment is administered on a monthly basis.

The study was published in the journal, Archives of Ophthalmology.

Release Date: June 13, 2011
Source: Wilmer Eye Institute at The Johns Hopkins University 


Filed Under: Drug Discovery

 

Related Articles Read More >

Sanders, King target DTC pharma ads but the industry worries more about threats to its $2B R&D model
Zoliflodacin wins FDA nod for treatment of gonorrhea
FDA approved ENFLONSIA for the prevention of RSV in Infants
First clinical study results of Dupixent for atopic dermatitis in patients with darker skin tones 
“ddd
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news and trends happening now in the drug discovery and development industry.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Drug Discovery and Development
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • Medtech100 Index
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Medical Design & Outsourcing
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • R&D World
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Drug Discovery & Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Voices
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE