Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd welcomes the UK Medicines & Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) decision to grant a license for Ongavia®, a biosimilar to Lucentis® (ranibizumab ), an eye injection. The United Kingdom is the first country in Europe to authorize commercialization of Ongavia® for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (“AMD”). Ongavia® is also licensed for: the treatment of visual impairment due to diabetic macular oedema (DME); the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR); the treatment of visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (branch RVO or central RVO); and the treatment of visual impairment due to choroidal neovascularisation (CNV).
Ranibizumab inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is responsible for the excessive formation of blood vessels in the retina2. Teva’s biosimilar ranibizumab is highly similar to its reference medicine in terms of clinical efficacy, ocular and systemic safety in the treatment of patients with AMD and its other indications, as shown in the COLUMBUS-AMD study (a randomized, double-masked, parallel group, multi-centre phase III study3). Read more here.