Share A topical drug, Xibrom (bromfenac), when used with Lucentis, may improve results, according to a Phase II clinical trial in patients with wet macular degeneration. The clinical trial is very small (30 patients with new or recurrent wet AMD), so more research is needed.  The developer, Ista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is planning additional studies to validate the results.

Some of the patients received Lucentis only; others received Lucentis and Xibrom.  Lucentis treatment was performed once a month for four months and then as needed. The patients themselves administered the Xibrom eye drops twice a day for twelve months.

The goal of Lucentis, of course, is to slow or stop the progression of vision loss by halting the growth of new blood vessels in the retina.  In addition to blood vessel growth, other signs of macular degeneration include thickening of the retina, breaks in the layers of the retina and pooling of fluid.

Xibrom (bromfenac) fights inflammation and is already used after cataract surgery to reduce swelling.

In this study, Xibrom didn't change the number of Lucentis treatments or improve vision any more than the Lucentis alone.  However, the retinal thickness in the group using Xibrom was decreased almost twice as much as in the Lucentis only group.  An earlier study did show a reduction in number of injections.

Macular degeneration has many causes and is a complicated disease. Combination therapy may well hold the key to the most successful treatment.

September 2011