It's not clear whether any conclusions can be drawn comparing Macugen to Lucentis, he argues.
Goddard says that even with competition from Lucentis, he sees real opportunities for Macugen.
Aside from Macugen, Visudyne, from Novartis and QLT is available to treat AMD.
When Lucentis was launched, it shocked Wall Street with its efficacy and basically put Genentech's main competitor, Eyetech's Macugen, out of business.
Macugen could face a rough patch as Lucentis is launched, Goddard admits.
That could represent further problems for Eyetech, which, along with Pfizer, already sells a treatment called Macugen for the disease--age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The big question: Will subtle differences between the two allow Lucentis to catch up with Macugen, which is much closer to the market?
Macugen will continue to be co-promoted by Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ), the world's largest drug company.
Eyetech shares soared last year based on the success of Macugen, a treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness.
Goddard says he doesn't foresee any problems with the partnership with Genentech going forward--the Tarceva and Macugen teams will remain completely separate within OSI.
That could represent further problems for Eyetech (nasdaq: EYET - news - people ), which, along with Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ), already sells a treatment called Macugen for the disease--age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
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