Lucentis and Avastin are both used to treat the wet version of
age-related macular degeneration. A new study from Queen's
University finds that Avastin, traditionally a cancer drug,
carries a much higher risk for the development of serious
intraocular inflammation, which can lead to blindness. A review
of 1,600 cases of patients who had been given either Lucentis or
Avastin found that participants who were given Avastin were 12
times more likely to develop intraocular inflammation.
Researcher Sanjay Sharma, M.D. said: "This is of concern for
patients receiving Avastin in the eye," Sharma said. "It is
particularly important because many of our seniors need numerous
injections — so the risk is cumulative." Both drugs are injected
directly into the user's eye and are made by Genentech. Since
both drugs have been found to be equally effective in studies,
insurance companies and government health plans prefer the off-
label use of Avastin, which costs one-tenth of the price of
Lucentis. Source: McKnight's Long Term