Ranibizumab for visual impairment due to diabetic macular edema: Real-world evidence in the Italian population (pride study)

Purpose. An expanded access program (PRIDE study) in Italy to provide ranibizumab 0.5mg to diabetic macular edema (DME) patients, prior to reimbursement. Methods. Open-label, prospective, phase IIIb study. Majority of patients were not treatment-naive before enrollment. Patients received ranibizumab as per the EU label (2011). Safety was assessed by incidences of ocular/systemic adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs (SAEs) and efficacy in terms of visual acuity (VA) change from baseline (decimal score or Snellen (20/value)). Results. Overall, 515 patients (83.5%) completed the study. In unilateral/bilateral patients, commonly observed AEs were cardiac disorders (1.3%/1.3%) and nervous system disorders (1.3%/1.1%); SAEs were reported in 4.5%/4.8% of patients. Acute renal failure, lung carcinoma, and cardiac arrest were the causes of death in one unilateral and two bilateral patients. Ranibizumab improved/maintained VA(Snellen (20/value)/decimal scores) in both unilateral (up to -16.7/1.5) and bilateral patients (up to -23.6/1.2) at Month 5, with a mean of 4.15 and 4.40 injections, respectively. Overall, no difference was observed in the VA outcomes and treatment exposure between unilateral/bilateral patients. Conclusions. The PRIDE study provided early ranibizumab access to > 600 Italian patients. Ranibizumab was well-tolerated and improved/maintained VA in 40.2%-68.8% patients, with no differences in case of unilateral or bilateral pathology. The study is registered with EudraCT.