Ranibizumab for proliferative and non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Ranibizumab as intravitreal injections is in clinical development for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy in both its proliferative and non-proliferative forms. Diabetic retinopathy, is a disease that affect the retinas and other parts of the inner eye. It is a chronic progressive condition of the retinal blood vessels due to prolonged raised blood glucose. When new blood vessels and scar tissue form on the retina causing bleeding within the eye and loss of vision, it is called proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
Ranibizumab has been designed to block a substance called vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF‑A), a protein that helps blood vessels grow and leak fluid and blood. By blocking this factor, ranibizumab reduces the growth of the blood vessels and controls the leakage and swelling in the retina. If licensed for diabetic retinopathy, ranibizumab has the potential to neutralise the retinal macular degeneration and reverse disease progression.