CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT00527475RAPUpdated Nov 28, 2025Results posted

Ranibizumab and Reduced Fluence PDT for AMD

A Phase 2 interventional study of ranibizumab and verteporfin in Macular Degeneration, sponsored by Texas Retina Associates. Completed at 3 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 50 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-11-28.

Sponsored by Texas Retina Associates · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
50 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Single agent anti-VEGF therapies such as ranibizumab have shown great promise and have set the standard for visual outcomes in treating wet macular degeneration. However, they need to be administered frequently by intraocular injections with the attendant risk of endophthalmitis, lens damage, retinal detachment, and vitreous hemorrhage. The purpose of this trial is to see if using photodynamic therapy in combination with ranibizumab will decrease the number of treatments with ranibizumab.

Read the detailed description

A randomized, prospective, multicenter trial will compare two groups of patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization secondary to AMD. One group will receive 0.5 mg. ranibizumab intraocularly initially. This will be repeated monthly for 3 months total and then as needed over the period of one year. The other group will receive Reduced Fluence-PDT (25 Joules) followed by 0.5 mg. of ranibizumab intraocularly on the same day. The second group will receive the combination of ranibizumab and RF-PDT as needed over a period of one year. Re-treatment will be determined by the individual investigator based on visual acuity, retinal thickness as measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT), and fluorescein angiography. Visual acuity and OCT measurements will be performed by masked examiners.

02

Conditions studied

  • Macular Degeneration

Keywords

  • Anti-VEGF therapy
  • photodynamic therapy
  • neovascularization
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
50 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Willingness to sign informed consent.
  2. Age greater than 50.
  3. Evidence of macular degeneration in the form of drusen in either eye.
  4. Visual acuity of 20/25 to 20/800.
  5. Subfoveal choroidal neovascularization. Both occult and classic subtypes will be allowed. If lesion is purely occult there has to be one of the following:

    1. Recent loss of vision (5 letters on ETDRS or doubling of visual angle by snellen)
    2. Documented enlargement of lesion on FA
    3. Increase of 50 microns or more in the central subfield on OCT
    4. New blood
  6. Total active lesion must be less than 12 disc areas in size. -

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Myopia, ocular histoplasmosis, or other retinal pathology that could affect vision
  2. Previous treatment of the enrolled eye for CNV
  3. Intraocular surgery within 6 weeks of enrollment
  4. Geographic atrophy, subretinal fibrosis, or pigment epithelial tear involving the fovea of the eligible eye
  5. Known hypersensitivity to verteporfin
  6. Medical condition that would preclude regular follow-up for one year.
  7. Previous vitrectomy
  8. Media opacities limiting visual acuity, retinal examination, or retinal imaging.
  9. A lesion where > 50% of the lesion is a pigment epithelial detachment. -
04

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
60 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Group I

    Group I will receive 0.5 mg. ranibizumab intraocularly initially. This will be repeated monthly for 3 months total and then as needed over the period of one year.

    Drug: ranibizumab

  • Experimental
    Group II

    Group II will receive Reduced Fluence-PDT (25 Joules) followed by 0.5 mg. of ranibizumab intraocularly on the same day. The second group will receive the combination of ranibizumab and RF-PDT as needed over a period of one year.

    Drug: ranibizumab · Drug: verteporfin

Interventions

  • Drugranibizumab

    0.5 mg. given as an intraocular injection

    Also known as: Lucentis

  • Drugverteporfin

    Standard dosage of 6 mgs. / meter2 of body surface area given intravenously.

    Also known as: Visudyne

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. The Percentage of Patients With Less Than 15 Letters of ETDRS Visual Loss at 12 Months.

    Time frame: 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. Percentage of Participants With Retreatments Over One Year

    Number of days to retreatment outcome changed to frequency of retreatments at maintenance visits.

    Time frame: 1 year

  2. Number of Injections Over 12 Months

    Additional number of ranibizumab injections given in each group over the 12 months

    Time frame: 1 year

  3. Percentage of Subjects Gaining More Than 15 ETDRS Letters of Acuity

    Time frame: 1 year

  4. Improvement in OCT (Optical Coherent Tomography) Foveal Thickness at 12 Months

    Improvement in OCT (Optical coherent tomography) foveal thickness at 12 months/Number of microns in foveal thickness measurement

    Time frame: 1 year

06

Results

Posted Jun 7, 2013

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneRanibizumabReduced Fluence PDT & Ranibizumab
Started3030
Completed2729
Not completed31

Outcome measures

PrimaryThe Percentage of Patients With Less Than 15 Letters of ETDRS Visual Loss at 12 Months.
Time frame:
1 year
Reported as:
Number · percentage of participants
The Percentage of Patients With Less Than 15 Letters of ETDRS Visual Loss at 12 Months.
percentage of participantsGroup IGroup II
The Percentage of Patients With Less Than 15 Letters of ETDRS Visual Loss at 12 Months.2214
SecondaryPercentage of Participants With Retreatments Over One Year

Number of days to retreatment outcome changed to frequency of retreatments at maintenance visits.

Time frame:
1 year
Reported as:
Number · % of subjects requiring additional injec
Percentage of Participants With Retreatments Over One Year
% of subjects requiring additional injecGroup IGroup II
Percentage of Participants With Retreatments Over One Year3321
SecondaryNumber of Injections Over 12 Months

Additional number of ranibizumab injections given in each group over the 12 months

Time frame:
1 year
Reported as:
Mean · injections
Number of Injections Over 12 Months
injectionsGroup IGroup II
Number of Injections Over 12 Months6.8 ± 2.493.0 ± 2.43
SecondaryPercentage of Subjects Gaining More Than 15 ETDRS Letters of Acuity
Time frame:
1 year
Reported as:
Number · percentage
Percentage of Subjects Gaining More Than 15 ETDRS Letters of Acuity
percentageGroup IGroup II
Percentage of Subjects Gaining More Than 15 ETDRS Letters of Acuity3331
SecondaryImprovement in OCT (Optical Coherent Tomography) Foveal Thickness at 12 Months

Improvement in OCT (Optical coherent tomography) foveal thickness at 12 months/Number of microns in foveal thickness measurement

Time frame:
1 year
Reported as:
Mean · microns
Improvement in OCT (Optical Coherent Tomography) Foveal Thickness at 12 Months
micronsGroup IGroup II
Improvement in OCT (Optical Coherent Tomography) Foveal Thickness at 12 Months91.4 ± 12.8104.1 ± 9.0

Adverse events

Non-serious events are listed at a 1% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Group I0/30 (0%)0/30 (0%)0/30 (0%)
Group II0/30 (0%)0/30 (0%)0/30 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)Group IGroup IITotal
Mean79.1 ± 8.3579.3 ± 7.2379.2 ± 7.72
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Group IGroup IITotal
Female141832
Male161228
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Group IGroup IITotal
United States303060
07

Study locations

3 sites
  • California Retina Consultants & Research Foundation
    Santa Barbara, California 93103, United States
  • Associated Retinal Consultants
    Ann Arbor, Michigan 49301, United States
  • Texas Retina Associates
    Arlington, Texas 76012, United States
08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00527475
Lead sponsor
Texas Retina Associates
Collaborators
Novartis
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 11, 2007
Start date
May 2007
Primary completion
Jan 2010
Completion
Jan 2010
Results posted
Jun 7, 2013
Last update
Nov 28, 2025

Study contacts

David Callanan, MD
study chair · Texas Retina Associates

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion