New Treatment for Retinal Vein Occlusion Approved in Canada
August 18, 2011 - Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a blinding condition that causes sudden vision loss. Lucentis®, a drug already approved in Canada to treat wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), has just been approved by Health Canada to treat vision loss resulting from RVO.
“Retinal vein occlusion is like having a stroke in the eye,” says Dr. Alan Cruess, Head of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Dalhousie University, Halifax. “Its impact can be profound, causing sudden and severe vision loss, which greatly impacts patients’ lives.”
“Lucentis® provides an effective and proven treatment option to restore lost vision for patients with a condition where virtually nothing existed before,” says Dr. Cruess. The drug was approved for both possible types of retinal vein occlusion – branch RVO (BRVO) and central RVO (CRVO). The drug has already been approved for this condition in both the USA and Europe.
Lucentis® was extensively tested in two trials that involved more than 750 people with retinal vein occlusions. About 60% of people with branch RVO (treated in the BRAVO trial) gained at least 15 letters of visual acuity on a vision chart after six months, compared with 29% of those treated with previously available treatment. For people with central RVO (the CRUISE trial) 48% of CRVO patients treated with monthly Lucentis® gained at least 15 letters of visual acuity at six months, compared with 17% of those treated with previously available medication.
“The approval of Lucentis® for patients afflicted by RVO is an important development that meets a large unmet need,” says Dr. Cruess. Approval of Lucentis® by Health Canada is the first step towards to having Lucentis® covered by provincial and private health plans for the treatment of vision loss resulting from RVO.