With Genentech's Lucentis expected to gain FDA approval soon for wet macular degeneration--a common cause of blindness among the elderly--a new debate is emerging comparing the steep cost of the therapy with off-label Avastin, which can be just as effective and much less expensive. Lucentis is an offshoot of Avastin and is likely to cost $1,500 to more than $2,000 per injection. It will be the only therapy that has delivered data that clearly demonstrates its value for the ailment. But doctors who use Avastin need only $20 to $100 worth of the drug for each injection. And there's considerable evidence it works as well. The stakes are high for Genentech, which believes it can raise hundreds of millions of dollars each year from Lucentis.
- here's The New York Times article on the two drugs