Avastin remains preferred DME therapy, despite Lucentis extended label in USA

Despite the approval of Swiss drug major Roche (ROG: SIX) subsidiary Genentech's Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) 0.3mg in August 2012 as the first intravitreal therapy (IVT) for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME), Genentech's Avastin (bevacizumab) continues to dominate the market with a 67% share of IVT-treated DME patients - similar to the percentage reported in September 2012 - mostly due to Avastin's low cost and broad managed care coverage.

Nevertheless, one-third of the 100 US retinal specialists and general ophthalmologists surveyed by health care advisory firm Decision Resources BioTrends Research unit report a recent decrease in their use of Avastin, owing in part to a preference for Lucentis 0.3mg.

The report, titled TreatmentTrends: Diabetic Retinopathy/Diabetic Macular Edema (US) 2013, finds that share of Lucentis (all doses) among IVT-treated patients has increased significantly from 14% to 20% over the past six months, driven in part by a growing Lucentis prescriber base, which may reflect the importance of the expanded label to physicians' likelihood to prescribe the drug.