Novartis said the analysis conducted by the Johns Hopkins University represents the best available information from the comparison of Roche's Avastin and Lucentis.
"These data contribute to the existing body of evidence suggests that the risk of death and cerebrovascular accident (CVA) would be greater in patients treated with Avastin compared to Lucentis," said Novartis.
Novartis and its partner Roche generated each about 1,500 million dollars in sales last year with Lucentis, and some analysts believe could become a drug in excess of 10,000 million dollars sales.
"Now more than ever it is clear that Lucentis and Avastin are different, and Novartis believes that Lucentis is the best therapy for patients," said Trevor Mundel, head of global development at Novartis Pharma.
Last week, U.S. researchers reported on a study by the National Eye Institute that Avastin worked just as Lucentis in treating vision loss caused by macular degeneration, but had more side effects.
The results were considered a threat to the millions of dollars from sales of Lucentis they hope to collect Roche, which sells the medicine in the United States, and Novartis, which markets the rest of the world, since most doctors prefer Avastin, which is much cheaper.
Avastin costs $ 50 per injection, compared with nearly $ 2,000 it costs to Lucentis.
But doctors still hesitate to prescribe Avastin after a study showed higher rates of severe systemic side effects, which require hospitalization.
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