Increasing Dose of Wet AMD Drug Does Not Increase Efficacy
November 14, 2011 - Lucentis® is a drug used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Studies have showed that it is remarkably effective in maintaining vision in up to 95% of people with wet AMD and can improve vision in many patients. Still, some physicians and scientists have wondered whether this drug could be even more effective at a higher dose, and some doctors do try increasing the dose for patients who are not responding to the standard therapy.
A recent study of over 1000 people with wet AMD looked at this question. Half of the people received the standard Lucentis® dose of 0.5 mg, while half received a 2.0 mg (quadruple) dose of Lucentis®. The results of this study, known at the HARBOUR study, were recently presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. The research was presented by Dr. Brandon Busbee. The study showed no significant difference in outcomes for the two doses.
This finding was somewhat unexpected and will likely change the practice of “double-dosing” when a patient doesn’t respond, since in this study even a quadruple dose was no more effective than the standard dose.