Current perspectives on ranibizumab

BACKGROUND This review summarizes the Phase III studies addressing intravitreal ranibizumab treatment in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), macular edema (ME) from retinal vein occlusion (RVO), and diabetic ME (DME). RESULTS The data from 12 major Phase III studies: six studies in patients with neovascular AMD, two studies in patients with ME from RVO, and four studies in patients with DME demonstrate significant improvement in vision in patients undergoing treatment with intravitreal ranibizumab over patients receiving no treatment or receiving only grid laser. These effects are achieved with low incidences of ocular and nonocular adverse events. CONCLUSION Intravitreal ranibizumab is a highly effective and safe therapy for improving vision and reducing vision loss in patients with neovascular AMD, ME from RVO, and DME. Patients generally require long-term treatment although some data show that frequency of treatment necessary to maintain visual outcomes decreases over time.