Results: CATT at 1 year

Orlando-A head-to-head comparison of ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) and bevacizumab (Avastin, Genentech) in the Comparison of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Treatments Trials (CATT) indicated that at the 1-year time point, both drugs were clinically equivalent for treating the disease, said Daniel Martin, MD.

The study included four treatment arms: two using monthly dosing and two using as-needed dosing, with a total of 1,208 patients.

Dr. Martin, speaking on behalf of the CATT study group, presented the highlights of the study. The letter increases in visual acuity were similar in the monthly dosing groups, with ranibizumab achieving a mean of +8.5 letters and bevacizumab a mean of +8 letters; in the as-needed dosing groups, ranibizumab achieved a mean of +6.8 letters and bevacizumab a mean of +5.9 letters. The study results were inconclusive when comparing ranibizumab as needed with bevacizumab as needed.

“The visual acuity analysis at 1 year showed no significant difference between the two drugs,” Dr. Martin said.

There were similar rates of death, heart attack, and stroke between the two drugs. There was a difference in the number of total serious adverse events that occurred, which he described as “perplexing.”

“There was a marginally significant difference in the serious adverse events between the drugs, with bevacizumab associated with higher rates of hospitalizations compared with ranibizumab (24% versus 19%),” Dr. Martin said. “This difference may be due to chance, imbalance at baseline, or risk. The 2-year results may tell.”

The most serious adverse event was endophthalmitis (n = 6), which occurred in the as-needed groups.

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