The strange case of Avastin-Lucentis

Description

The protagonists of the Avastin-Lucentis case are a specifically approved drug for maculopathy, i.e., Lucentis (ranibizumab) by Novartis, and a cancer drug that has been similarly employed in the ophthalmological field despite it has never been approved for the same indication, Avastin (bevacizumab) by Roche. The regulations on the marketing of drugs, caught between health protection and spending constraints, are addressed in detail by the author to explore the more general role of regulators and what the consequences of their independent assessment and judgement are.