U.K. judge upholds preferred prescribing of Avastin off label for wet AMD

A U.K. judge upheld in September a policy of prescribing Avastin bevacizumab as the preferred treatment option for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) over Eylea aflibercept and Lucentis ranibizumab. Avastin does not have marketing authorization from the European Commission for wet AMD; the other two drugs have been reviewed by EMA and approved by the EC in the indication.

Physicians often prescribe a compounded, unlicensed form of Avastin to treat wet AMD because it costs about £28 per injection, while Eylea and Lucentis cost about £816 and £551, respectively. ...