Novartis has released the first results from its phase 3 clinical trials assessing the safety and effectiveness of pegpleranib combined with Lucentis (ranibizumab) -- and the company is reporting top-line results.
The pegpleranib-Lucentis combination is designed to treat neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).
"We are fully committed to innovate and grow Lucentis as standard of care in diseases of the retina and to continue our research in this area," Novartis Global Head of Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer Vasant Narasimhan said. "The key message from the data is that the proven efficacy of Lucentis monotherapy was not improved by the addition of pegpleranib. Together with Ophthotech, we continue to analyze the data. We are confident that underlying data will provide further understanding and guidance on how best to help patients with this disease. Novartis continues researching new treatment options for patients with nAMD, and we are looking forward to the phase III results of our next generation treatment RTH258."
The two trials the data for the results originated were the OPH1002 and OPH1003 studies, but neither met their main goal in regard to superiority for the combination therapy, measured as best corrected visual acuity (BCVA).
