Novartis Launches Lucentis Prefilled Syringe in Europe

Novartis announced that it has launched the prefilled syringe formulation of Lucentis (ranibizumab) in Germany, with other markets to follow throughout 2014. The prefilled syringe formulation has been specifically designed for intraocular injection to enhance patient safety and convenience for the treating clinician.

Lucentis, an antibody fragment, has been approved in more than 100 countries for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), visual impairment due to diabetic macular edema (DME) and for visual impairment due to macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO), including both branch- and central-RVO.

According to the Novartis, Lucentis prefilled syringe offers advantages, such as greater dose accuracy and more convenient treatment process as well as a reduction in the risk of adverse events from non-sterile conditions. The innovation reduces non-sterile preparatory steps and includes safety features, such as a non-retractable plunger. Design features, such as a smaller syringe barrel, makes greater dose accuracy possible. These features combined could potentially reduce waiting times and thereby improve the patient treatment experience.

Source: Novartis