Lucentis (ranibizumab)

Generic drug: ranibizumab

Brand name: Lucentis

Lucentis (ranibizumab) Injection is a monoclonal antibody that works by slowing the growth of abnormal new blood vessels in the eye and decreasing leakage from these blood vessels used to treat the wet form of age-related macular degeneration. 

It is also used to treat

• diabetic retinopathy (DR),
• diabetic macular edema (DME),
• myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV), and
• macular edema following retinal vein occlusion (RVO). 

Generic name: ranibizumab

Common side effects of Lucentis include:

• discomfort and increased tears in the affected eye(s),
• itchy or watery eyes,
• dry eyes,
• swelling of the eyelids,
• blurred vision,
• sinus pain,
• sore throat,
• cough, or
• joint pain.

Lucentis may infrequently increase your risk for developing a certain serious eye condition (endophthalmitis), especially during the first week after receiving a dose.

Tell your doctor if you notice symptoms in the affected eye(s) such as

• pain,
• redness,
• sensitivity to light, or
• a sudden change in vision.

General Dosing Information

FOR OPHTHALMIC INTRAVITREAL INJECTION.

Vials

• A 5-micron sterile filter needle (19-gauge × 1-1/2 inch), a 1-mL Luer lock syringe and a 30-gauge × ½ inch sterile injection needle are needed but not included.

Neovascular (Wet) Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

• Lucentis 0.5 mg (0.05 mL of 10 mg/mL solution) is recommended to be administered by intravitreal injection once a month (approximately 28 days).
• Although not as effective, patients may be treated with 3 monthly doses followed by less frequent dosing with regular assessment.
• In the 9 months after three initial monthly doses, less frequent dosing with 4-5 doses on average is expected to maintain visual acuity while monthly dosing may be expected to result in an additional average 1-2 letter gain. Patients should be assessed regularly.
• Although not as effective, patients may also be treated with one dose every 3 months after 4 monthly doses.
• Compared with continued monthly dosing, dosing every 3 months over the next 9 months will lead to an approximate 5-letter (1-line) loss of visual acuity benefit, on average. Patients should be assessed regularly.

Macular Edema Following Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO)

• Lucentis 0.5 mg (0.05 mL of 10 mg/mL solution) is recommended to be administered by intravitreal injection once a month (approximately 28 days).
• In Studies RVO-1 and RVO-2, patients received monthly injections of Lucentis for 6 months.
• In spite of being guided by optical coherence tomography and visual acuity re-treatment criteria, patients who were then not treated at Month 6 experienced on average, a loss of visual acuity at Month 7, whereas patients who were treated at Month 6 did not. Patients should be treated monthly.

Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) And Diabetic Retinopathy (DR)

• Lucentis 0.3 mg (0.05 mL of 6 mg/mL solution) is recommended to be administered by intravitreal injection once a month (approximately 28 days).

Myopic Choroidal Neovascularization (mCNV)

• Lucentis 0.5 mg (0.05 mL of 10 mg/mL Lucentis solution) is recommended to be initially administered by intravitreal injection once a month (approximately 28 days) for up to 3 months. Patients may be retreated if needed.

• Drug interaction studies have not been conducted with Lucentis.
• Lucentis intravitreal injection has been used adjunctively with PDT.
• Twelve of 105 (11%) patients with neovascular AMD developed serious intraocular inflammation; in 10 of the 12 patients, this occurred when Lucentis was administered 7 days (± 2 days) after PDT.

• There are no adequate and well-controlled studies of Lucentis administration in pregnant women.
• There are no data available on the presence of ranibizumab in human milk, the effects of ranibizumab on the breastfed infant or the effects of ranibizumab on milk production/excretion.