Ranibizumab is a recombinant humanized IgG1 kappa isotype monoclonal antibody fragment (molecular weight approximately 48kD) that binds to the active form of human vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A). This binding prevents the interaction of VEGF-A with its receptors (VEGFR1 and VEGFR2) on the surface of endothelial cells which reduces endothelial cell proliferation, vascular leakage, and new blood vessel formation. It is indicated for the treatment of patients with neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration.
This drug is sold under the tradename "Lucentis" and is produced by Genentech Pharmaceuticals. Ranibizumab is approved for opthalmic intravitreal injection only and administration is recommended once a month. It is contraindicated in patients with ocular or periocular infections and hypersensitivity to the drug. Clinical trials evaluating ranibizumab for diabetic macular edema (DME) and retinal vein occlusion (RVO) are ongoing.
| Source | Link | Revision Date | Access Date |
| Ranibizumab Prescribing Information | http://www.gene.com/gene/products/information/tgr/lucentis/ | 2008-April | 2008-May-29 |
| Vedula SS, Krzystolik MG. Antiangiogenic therapy with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor modalities for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Apr 16;(2) | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18425911 | 2008-April | 2008-Jun-06 |
| Brown DM, Kaiser PK et al. Ranibizumab versus verteporfin for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. N Engl J Med. 2006 Oct 5;355(14):1432-44 | http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/355/14/1432 | 2006-Oct | 2008-Jun-06 |
| Rosenfeld PJ, Brown DM et al. Ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. N Engl J Med. 2006 Oct 5;355(14):1419-31 | http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/355/14/1419 | 2006-Oct | 2008-Jun-06 |
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