Novartis, the Swiss-drug manufacturer, has come up with a new drug that could treat blindness; it fights the wet form of AMD or age-related macular degeneration.

AMD, in general, hits around the age of 60; the wet form of the disease has a rapid onset and can cause blindness

The Food and Drug Administration approves Lucentis for the treatment of patients with neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration. Lucentis is the first treatment which can maintain the vision of more than 90 percent of patients with this type of AMD.

The FDA says Lucentis is a new molecular entity, meaning it contains an active substance that has never before been approved for marketing in any form in the U.S. Lucentis will be the first FDA-approved product to provide prescription information in the new format for prescription drug package inserts. These are designed to provide professionals and consumers clear and concise prescription information