Treatment of Exudative and Vasogenic Chorioretinal Diseases Including Variants of AMD and Other CNV Related Maculopathy

Study Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of intravitreal injections of ranibizumab in the treatment of AMD variants and other choroidal neovascularization (CNV) related conditions (Coats' disease, idiopathic perifoveal telangiectasia, retinal angiomatous proliferation, polypoidal vasculopathy, pseudoxanthoma elasticum, pathological myopia, multi-focal choroiditis, rubeosis iridis) using the incidence and severity of adverse events. Limited forms of treatment are available that limit the loss of visual acuity. However, the patients may not have any substantial improvement in acuity or function. Therefore there remains a significant unmet need for therapeutic options managing the neovascularization and its consequences. Lucentis (ranibizumab) injection will be considered as an attempt to control the growth of the abnormal vessels because of evidence suggesting that angiogenic factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), play a role in the pathogenesis of neovascular non-AMD conditions. The rationale for the study design is as follows: A 0.5 mg dose of Lucentis (ranibizumab), a commercially available preparation that is Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved and labeled for intravitreal injection use for neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration will be used. In AMD variants and other CNV related conditions, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a role in the pathogenesis as in neovascular AMD. Intravitreal injection of ranibizumab delivers maximal concentration of the antibody fragment to the vitreous cavity with minimal systemic exposure. The dosing schedule, based on considerations of the half-life and the clinical response in patients with neovascularization suggests that a 1-month interval is optimal.

Interventions

• DRUG ranibizumab injection (0.5 mg)