There has been some news regarding macular degeneration that came out a few weeks ago and I wanted to talk a bit about that today. The FDA has approved Syfovre (pegcetacoplan) for the treatment of geographic atrophy due to dry age-related macular degeneration.
What is Geographic Atrophy?
Geographic atrophy is a chronic progressive degeneration of the macula that occurs as part of late-stage age-related macular degeneration. There is atrophy of the outer retinal tissue, retinal pigment epithelium, and choriocapillaris. It causes missing spots in the center of the vision called central scotomas and permanent loss of visual acuity. Typically, it occurs in both eyes. Geographic atrophy occurs in about 20% of cases of macular degeneration.
Before now, there has been no treatment available to halt or reverse the progression of geographic atrophy, so this is big news!
What is Syfovre?
So, Syfovre contains pegcetacoplan, which has been investigated as a targeted C3 inhibition therapy. It regulates excessive activation of the complement cascade, which could lead to the onset and progression of diseases.
It is administered via intravitreal injection once every 25-60 days to reduce the progression of geographic atrophy.
Now, there were two studies, the DERBY and OAKS studies, that tested its efficacy and safety. The results showed a clinically meaningful reduction in geographic atrophy growth when compared to sham injections from months 18-24. There was a 36% reduction in DERBY and 29% reduction in OAKS.
As far as adverse reactions, the most common was ocular discomfort, neovascular AMD, floaters, dry eyes, and conjunctival hemorrhage.
There is always the risk of major issues like a retinal detachment, but thankfully that is very rare.
Syfovre is expected to be made available this month! This is a really amazing and historic first for treating these patients who previously had no options.