Despite Bevasiranib has been discontinued it’s worth mentioning because it was the first therapy based on the Nobel Prize-winning RNA interference (RNAi) technology to advance to phase III clinical trials.

Bevasiranib was a first-in-class small interfering RNA (siRNA) drug designed to silence the genes that produce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

“The decision to conclude the clinical program follows a review of preliminary trial data by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee, which found that although Bevasiranib showed activity when used in conjunction with Lucentis^® (ranibizumab, Genentech), the trial was unlikely to meet its primary endpoint.”⁽⁸⁾

The trial was COBALT for “Combination of Bevasiranib and Lucentis^® Therapies” for AMD.

It was a phase III, randomized, double-blinded, parallel-assignment study of the RNAi drug administered either every 8 or 12 weeks as a maintenance therapy following three injections of Lucentis^®(9).