It has been three years since Roche’s Genentech Inc. launched its vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor ranibizumab (Lucentis), quickly capturing the lion’s share of the market for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from competing treatments such as QLT Inc.’s photodynamic therapy verteporfin (Visudyne) and Pfizer Inc./OSI Pharmaceuticals LLC’s anti-VEGF treatment pegaptanib (Macugen). Lucentis’s rapid adoption by ophthalmologists—in 2008 the drug racked up sales totaling $875 million in the US alone—illustrates the importance of having a clinically superior therapy.
With a highly effective therapy on the market for AMD—Genentech’s antibody fragment stops progression of AMD in virtually all patients...
