Oct 10, 2019

FDA Approves New Wet AMD Treatment that can be Administered Every Three Months

Eye On the Cure Research News

Beovu from Novartis reduces treatment burden for wet AMD patients

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Beovu®, a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) newly approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), often provides similar vision benefits to Eylea® when administered every three months. Eylea is frequently administered every two months.

Novartis, developer of the treatment, reports that 30 percent of patients receiving Beovu every three months in Phase 3 clinical trials gained at least 15 letters (3 lines on an eye chart) at year one. Patients in the trials also showed greater reduction in central subfield thickness (CST) than patients in the trials receiving Eylea. CST is an indicator of harmful fluid in the retinas of wet AMD patients.

Beovu becomes the third FDA-approved treatment for wet AMD. Eylea was approved by the FDA in 2011. Lucentis® received FDA approval in 2006. The cancer drug Avastin is also used off-label for treating wet AMD. All the above wet AMD treatments are delivered by an injection into the vitreous, the middle of the eye.

All current wet AMD treatments work by blocking the leaky blood vessels that grow underneath the retina. The harmful blood vessels are the hallmark of wet AMD.

“While wet AMD therapeutic injection options are often effective for people with wet AMD, they require a visit to the eye doctor and can be uncomfortable,” says Brian Mansfield, PhD, vice president of research and interim chief scientific officer, Foundation Fighting Blindness. “We welcome options that can reduce the treatment burden for wet AMD patients.”