Fewer Lucentis injections with new regimen

Preliminary results of a study using the NSAID Xibrom (bromfenac ophthalmic solution 0.09%; ISTA Pharmaceuticals) therapy in combination with Lucentis (ranibizumab; Novartis) in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), suggests that it may result in fewer injections being required.

The results were obtained from 60 patients receiving Lucentis therapy for wet AMD who were monitored monthly using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescein angiography. If leakage from vessels was detected, patients were re-injected with Lucentis. Half the subjects received Xibrom twice daily in addition to the Lucentis injections.

Patients who received Lucentis and Xibrom required 1.6±0.69 injections during the six-month study period, whereas those patients receiving just Lucentis required 4.5±0.41 injections. No adverse events were associated with the extended topical administration of Xibrom. Although there was a numerical trend in favour of the combination treatment group on improvement in visual acuity, the difference did not achieve statistical significance.

The full findings will be presented at the ARVO 2008 annual meeting in April.