The development of ranibizumab and similar therapies changed the prognosis of wet macular degeneration from a 90 percent risk of legal blindness within two years of diagnosis to a 95 percent chance of stabilization of vision and 35 percent chance for significant improvement over two years. With wet macular degeneration, abnormal blood vessels grow under the retina. In dry macular degeneration, the center of the retina deteriorates. Age-related macular degeneration affects the retina, which lines the inner surface of the back of the eye, and is the leading cause of severe vision loss in people over the age of 65. Schwartz was a principal investigator in a number of early-stage clinical trials for retinal diseases, including the initial studies for ranibizumab (Lucentis) – an injectable drug that is now a common treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration. Schwartz leads clinical trials of novel cell therapies and drugs to treat blinding eye diseases.
He aims to translate basic biological discoveries into new treatment strategies, and to develop and evaluate novel medical device technologies, imaging technologies, surgical equipment (including surgical robots) and drug delivery systems. Steven Schwartz, M.D., is an ophthalmologist whose primary research areas include early diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as macular degeneration, retinopathy of prematurity and diabetic eye disease.
