Lucentis proven effective for proliferative diabetic retinopathy

A clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that the drug ranibizumab (Lucentis) is highly effective in treating proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). The trial, conducted by the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net), compared Lucentis with a type of laser therapy called scatter or panretinal photocoagulation (PRP), which has remained the gold standard of treatment for PDR since the mid-1970s.