Lucentis Prefilled Syringe Available in the US

Genentech recently reported that the Lucentis 0.5-mg prefilled syringe is now available in the United States. The prefilled syringe is a novel way to treat patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, macular edema after retinal vein occlusion, and myopic choroidal neovascularization.

The injection was approved for myopic choroidal neovascularization in early January 2017, which made it the first anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to receive approval for this condition, according to the press release.

The recent approval is based on positive results demonstrated in the phase 3 RADIANCE clinical trial, which found that patients treated with Lucentis had more significant gains in visual acuity compared with photodynamic therapy.

The safety and efficacy of Lucentis has been assessed in more than 9000 patients across 9 pivotal and 24 clinical trials, and has received regulatory approval for use in more than 110 countries for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, and macular edema resulting from branch retinal vein occlusion, central retinal vein occlusion (RVO), and myopic choroidal neovascularization.

This prefilled syringe is the first to deliver anti-VEGF medication to treat wet AMD, retinal vein occlusion, and myopic choroidal neovascularization.

The approval of the prefilled syringe allows for a streamlined treatment process, since physicians can eliminate numerous preparation and administration steps, such as disinfecting the vial, attaching a filter needle, drawing the medicine from the vial, removing the filter needle from the syringe, and replacing it with an injection needle, according to Genentech.

With the Lucentis prefilled syringe, physicians have to attach the injection needle, and adjust the dose prior to administering the drug. Compared with the previous process, the prefilled syringe can save time for both the patient and the physician.

“The Lucentis prefilled syringe is going to be a really nice advance for my clinic. By using the prefilled syringe, I can eliminate an extra step in the injection process that could potentially lead to contamination,” said retina specialist John A. Wells III, MD. “I’m excited to use this new innovation when treating my patients."