Roche Eye Med Can Be Injected on Up to 4 Month Interval

 

• Across four studies in diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), approximately half of people receiving faricimab could be treated every four months in the first year
• Approximately three-quarters of people receiving faricimab could be treated every three months or longer in the first year
• Faricimab showed rapid and consistent improvements in anatomical outcomes including central subfield thickness across all studies
• If approved, faricimab would be the first in a new class of medicine in 15 years for people with nAMD and in close to a decade in DME

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced detailed results from four Phase III studies of its investigational bispecific antibody, faricimab, for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular or “wet” age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). The studies consistently showed that faricimab, given at intervals of up to four months, offered non-inferior vision gains compared to aflibercept, given every two months. Approximately half of people eligible for extended dosing with faricimab were able to be treated every four months in the first year in the YOSEMITE and RHINE studies in DME and the TENAYA and LUCERNE studies in nAMD. Faricimab is the first injectable eye medicine to achieve this length of time between treatments in Phase III studies for DME and nAMD. Furthermore, approximately three-quarters of people eligible for extended dosing with faricimab were able to be treated every three months or longer in the first year. Faricimab was generally well-tolerated in all four studies, with no new or unexpected safety signals identified.

Results from the studies will be presented at Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration 2021, a medical symposium presented by Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, on Saturday, February 13.

“These faricimab data offer the promise of a new treatment for two common causes of blindness, diabetic macular edema and neovascular age-related macular degeneration," said Jeffrey Heier, M.D., Director of Retinal Research at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston in Boston, Mass. “Faricimab’s potential to extend time between treatments may benefit those patients who struggle to keep up with the regular physician visits and eye injections needed to preserve their vision.”

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/new-phase-iii-data-show-genentech-s-faricimab-is-the-first-investigational-injectable-eye-medicine-to-extend-time-between-treatments-up-to-four-months-in-two-leading-causes-of-vision-loss-potentially-reducing-treatment-burden-for-patients/