The following commentary appeared on June 6, 2007 in the Patent Docs Biotech & Pharma Patent Law & News Blog . It was written by Attorney Kevin E. Noonan. It is reproduced with permission of the author. Genentech CEO Defends Differential Cost for AVASTIN/LUCENTIS Treatment of Macular Degeneration The comparative effectiveness of two Genentech drugs, LUCENTIS and AVASTIN, for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is currently the subject of a study by the National Eye Institutes (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health. The reason: the cost of AVASTIN treatment (an off-label use, since AVASTIN is approved only for treating colon and certain lung cancers), is much less than the cost of treating AMD with LUCENTIS ($20-60/dose versus $2000/dose). Perhaps not surprisingly, Genentech has refused to supply the NEI with either drug for the trial. In an article in today's (June 5, 2007) Wall Street Journal, Dr. Arthur Levinson (Genentech’s CEO) attempted to justi...