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Following an investigation into Avastin due to reports of eye infections in Florida, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has ceased the use of the drug which has been commonly used to treat age-related macular degeneration.
Bevacizumab (trade name Avastin, Genentech/Roche) is a drug used to treat a variety of cancers as well as eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration by blocking the growth of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis. Many diseases of the eye damage the retina and cause blindness when blood vessels around the retina grow abnormally and leak fluid, causing the layers of the retina to separate. This abnormal growth is caused by VEGF, so bevacizumab has been used to inhibit and slow this growth.
However, the US Department of Veterans Affairs, an organisation who look after military veterans, will not allow off label use of Avastin for such eye diseases. This follows on from a warning made by the US Food and Drug Administration regarding repackaged Avastin early this year. The VA has recommended that ophthalmologists consider alternative treatments until their investigation into this matter is complete.
Medicines by Petr Kratochvil (Image)