Bevacizumab rescue therapy after pegaptanib: minimal visual acuity improvement

Primary bevacizumab (Avastin, Genentech) therapy for choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration resulted in two to three ETDRS lines of improvement, which is similar to that with ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech). Bevacizumab rescue therapy administered following treatment with pegaptanib (Macugen, OSI/Eyetech, Pfizer Ophthalmics) resulted in minimal improvement, said William Freeman, MD, from the Department of Ophthalmology, Shiley Eye Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA.