Genentech's Lucentis Cleared

Biotech giant Genentech (DNA Quote) received regulatory clearance in the U.S. for Lucentis, a drug designed to treat an eye disease that can progress until it ultimately leads to blindness.

Earlier in the day Friday, investors had already been expecting the approval and sent Genentech's shares up more than 3%. Recently, the stock rose $2.74, or 3.4%, to $82.87.

Lucentis will be used against a condition called wet age-related macular degeneration. The drug has performed well in clinical trials showing its efficacy, including one that involved a head-to-head comparison with another treatment, Visudyne from Novartis' (NVS Quote) and QLT (QLTI Quote). During the trial, Lucentis actually improved the vision of some patients. ...