Are there any new drugs on the horizon for wet macular degeneration?

The short answer is NO.

The results with Lucentis have been so great...that many other manufacturers have abandoned development of drugs that they had been exploring...due to the huge costs involved. Any new drug will have to be shown to be better than Lucentis.

Currently...a drug called VEGF-Trap is in Phase 3 FDA trials...results are expected perhaps in 2011. VEGF-Trap will have to be shown to have better visual acuity improvement and/or less frequent dosing to have potential.

Very sophisticated new laser systems are also being explored (Opttx Medical)...perhaps to be used together with Lucentis...to decrease the number of injections required.

How many Lucentis injections will I need?

It is impossible to predict the number of injections a person will need for "wet" macular degeneration. It is important to recognize that Lucentis is not a "cure" but rather a maintenance therapy for macular degeneration. The body stimulates the growth of abnormal blood vessels in wet ARMD...for reasons that are not entirely understood. The body produces a chemical called VEGF...which stimulates the growth and leakage of these abnormal blood vessels. Lucentis...specifcally blocks VEGF...however Lucentis stays inside the eye only for about four weeks...and is then absorbed by the body...therefore...almost always...when the Lucentis gets absorbed...the blood vessels start to grow and to leak again...and more Lucentis is then required.

Most retinal specialists treat patients in a schedule similar to the following...an initial course of three Lucentis injections every four weeks...then careful monthly follow-up...with repeat injection at the earliest sign of recurrence or persistence of blood vessel growth and leakage.