Roche announced on July 2nd that its eye drug Lucentis (ranibizumab) has improved vision in a second indication in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion. In the 397-patient BRAVO study Lucentis improved vision at six months in patients with macular edema and retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

The top-line results also showed that the safety profile of Lucentis was consistent with previous experience and that no new adverse events related to Lucentis were observed. The full results are due to be presented at the Retinal Congress in New York, at the end of September.

The two dose levels of Lucentis tested met the primary endpoint of a significant improvement in mean change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity at six months. BRAVO compared six monthly injections of Lucentis with monthly sham injections.

RVO could become an additional indication to Lucentis’s current use in wet age-related macular degeneration.

Branch-RVO affects an estimated 684,000 people in the U.S., and CRVO, affects an estimated 211,000 people, Roche said.

See the company’s press release ^[1]