Macular Degeneration - AMD - ARMD

Macular degeneration, sometimes called just AMD or ARMD (age-related macular degeneration) is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in American men and women above the age of 65. Since the Baby Boomers are getting older and older and their generation represent an increasingly larger percentage of the general population, vision loss is a growing problem.

 In October of 2006, the National Eye Institute (NEI) announced that it would fund a comparative study trial of ranibizumab (Lucentis) and bevacizumab (Avastin) to assess the effectiveness of the medicines in treating AMD.

What are the side effects of Avastin?

Although Avastin is currently approved for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, it has being studied in different types of cancer. Because these cancers—and the chemotherapy agents used to treat them—are different, the side effects that patients have may also differ. However, it is important to be aware of some of the more serious events seen with Avastin in these other cancer types.

• Some people receiving Avastin in combination with chemotherapy for lung cancer experienced serious tumor-related hemorrhage (bleeding). People who experience severe bleeding should stop taking Avastin permanently

• A small group of people receiving Avastin plus chemotherapy in clinical trials experienced congestive heart failure. This risk was highest in people who had taken anthracyclines (a type of chemotherapy commonly used to treat breast cancer and some types of leukemia) in the past and/or in combination with Avastin

 

  

How is Avastin Administered?

It is mostly given once every 2 weeks along with the patients normal chemotherapy treatments. It is administered as long as your physician recommends you to continue the treatment. If you experience a side effect related to chemotherapy, your doctor may stop and/or change your chemotherapy regimen, but Avastin may be continued longer.

Package Description:    AVASTIN® (Bevacizumab) is a recombinant humanized monoclonal IgG1 antibody that binds to and inhibits the biologic activity of human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in in vitro and in vivo assay systems. Bevacizumab contains human framework regions and the complementarity-determining regions of a murine antibody that binds to VEGF (1). Bevacizumab is produced in a Chinese Hamster Ovary mammalian cell expression system in a nutrient medium containing the antibiotic gentamicin and has a molecular weight of approximately 149 kilodaltons. AVASTIN is a clear to slightly opalescent, colorless to pale brown, sterile, pH 6.2 solution for intravenous (IV) infusion. AVASTIN is supplied in 100 mg and 400 mg preservative-free, single-use vials to deliver 4 mL or 16 mL of AVASTIN (25 mg/mL). The 100 mg product is formulated in 240 mg , -trehalose dihydrate, 23.2 mg sodium phosphate (monobasic, monohydrate), 4.8 mg sodium phosphate (dibasic, anhydrous), 1.6 mg polysorbate 20, and Water for Injection, USP. The 400 mg product is formulated in 960 mg , -trehalose dihydrate, 92.8 mg sodium phosphate (monobasic, monohydrate), 19.2 mg sodium phosphate (dibasic, anhydrous), 6.4 mg polysorbate 20, and Water for Injection, USP.

Studies

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