FDA: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Drug Effectively Treats Vision Loss

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN)’s experimental treatment for a common cause of blindness prevents vision loss, U.S. regulators said, suggesting they may soon approve the competitor to Roche Holding AG (ROG)’s Lucentis. The new medicine, known as VEGF Trap-Eye or aflibercept, worked as well as Lucentis when injected into the eye every month or other month in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, Food and Drug Administration staff said in a report released today. Lucentis, a $1.4 billion-a-year product for Basel, Switzerland-based Roche, is given monthly.