Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 21, 2025
Use of Rabbit Eyes in Pharmacokinetic Studies of Intraocular Drugs
Published on: July 23, 2016
Ranibizumab: A Review in Retinopathy of Prematurity
1Springer Nature, Private Bag 65901, Mairangi Bay, Auckland, 0754, New Zealand. demail@springer.com.
Insights
Ranibizumab (Lucentis) effectively treats retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in infants. While not statistically superior to laser therapy, it shows promise with a good safety profile and no systemic VEGF suppression.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of childhood blindness.
- Anti-VEGF therapy has emerged as a treatment option for ROP.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravitreal ranibizumab compared to laser therapy for ROP.
- To assess long-term vision outcomes and systemic effects of ranibizumab in ROP treatment.
Main Methods:
- The RAINBOW trial was a randomized, phase III study involving infants with ROP.
- Patients received either intravitreal ranibizumab or laser therapy.
- Interim analyses from an extension study monitored long-term effects.
Main Results:
- A majority of ranibizumab recipients achieved treatment success at 24 weeks.
- Ranibizumab showed a numerically higher success rate (80%) than laser therapy (66%), but not statistically significant.
- Adverse events were consistent with adult safety profiles and mainly procedure-related.
- No systemic VEGF suppression was observed.
Conclusions:
- Ranibizumab is an effective and generally well-tolerated treatment for ROP.
- It offers a promising alternative to laser therapy, with no observed systemic VEGF suppression.
- Long-term visual outcomes require further investigation, but current data are encouraging.
Abstract:
Ranibizumab (Lucentis®) is a monoclonal antibody fragment targeted against VEGF-A that is the first approved anti-VEGF agent for the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). In the pivotal, randomized, phase III RAINBOW trial in infants with ROP, the majority of intravitreal ranibizumab recipients experienced treatment success at 24 weeks, with a numerically greater treatment success rate in the ranibizumab 0.2 mg (80% of patients) than laser therapy (66%) group without reaching statistical significance for superiority. Long-term effects on vision following ranibizumab treatment are not yet known, but interim analyses from the RAINBOW extension study do not show evidence of degraded vision. Adverse reactions to ranibizumab in pediatric patients were consistent with the known safety profile in adults, with most adverse reactions attributed to the intravitreal injection procedure. Furthermore, systemic VEGF suppression was not observed in clinical trials, which is congruent with the rapid systemic clearance of ranibizumab. Overall, ranibizumab is an effective and generally well tolerated treatment for ROP and is not associated with systemic VEGF suppression. Although results for its long-term effects on vision are not yet available, ranibizumab is a promising alternative option to laser therapy for treating ROP.
