| The Comparison of AMD Treatment Trials (CATT), of which Retina-Vitreous Associates is a designated site, announced their first year results last week. A large, prospective multicenter, randomized clinical trial funded by the National Eye Institute, the CATT Trial compared intravitreal injections of Avastin with Lucentis for wet macular degeneration over a 12 month period. Patients were randomized to either intravitreal Avastin or Lucentis on either a monthly schedule or as needed with monthly evaluation.
The results of the study showed that there was no significant difference in visual outcome between the two medications. The study also demonstrated that monthly injections of both medications were not significantly different than injections given as needed as long as they were seen monthly.
Rates of death, heart attack, and stroke were similar for patients receiving either drug, though the rate of hospitalizations was slightly higher in the group receiving Avastin.
Both Avastin and Lucentis are manufactured by Genentech, a pharmaceutical company based in San Francisco, CA. Though Avastin has only FDA approval for metastatic colon cancer, it has been widely used for several years among retina specialists as an off-label treatment for wet macular degeneration. Lucentis was developed by Genentech after Avastin was shown to be effective for treatment of wet AMD and is FDA approved for both wet AMD and retinal vein occlusion. Up until now, a randomized, multicenter clinical trial comparing the two drugs head-to-head had not been performed.
A cost-per-patient analysis was performed in the CATT Trial, and showed that patients receiving monthly Lucentis cost $23,400 per year versus $595 per patient receiving monthly Avastin for one year.
Investigators of the CATT Trial, including Retina-Vitreous Associates, will continue to follow patients closely with plans to announce the 2 year results in 2012.
Retina-Vitreous Associates (Dr. Firas Rahhal, principal investigator) is proud to be one of only 2 sites in southern California to participate in this national landmark study directly comparing Avastin and Lucentis for wet macular degeneration.
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