Neovascular, or wet form of age-related macular degeneration, occurs when abnormal blood vessels proliferate and leak fluid into the light-sensitive retina, leading to further vision loss. Regular injections with an anti-VEGF drug help protect vision from further loss.

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report that some patients may soon be able to stop receiving eyedrop medications and resume daily activities without suffering further damage to their eyes or vision.

Vabysmo® (faricimab-svoa)

Vabysmo is an injectable medication designed to treat wet macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema (DME). The medication works by blocking vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which promotes new blood vessel formation in the retina. An eye doctor administers it via injection directly in the center of each eye.

Wet macular degeneration affects 1.5 to 1.75 million people in the United States and is one of the primary causes of blindness among older adults. It begins when abnormal blood vessels form and leak fluid into the eye, leading to vision loss. Treatment options currently include repeated intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF medications which inhibit vessel growth and decrease macular fluid buildup; however, these do not prevent disease progression, so are necessary on an ongoing basis.

Genentech, maker of Vabysmo, reported long-term results from two phase 3 studies that demonstrated its long-term vision improvements and dryness of retinal fluid for up to 72 weeks in two studies conducted on patients suffering from macular edema due to branch and central retinal vein occlusion (RVO). They support filing an additional biologics license application (sBLA) for its treatment.

Vabysmo would become the first single injection treatment for RVO if approved by the FDA, helping stabilize blood vessels by neutralizing angiopoietin-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A). Furthermore, this medication blocks other inflammatory proteins thought to contribute to RVO.

Genentech plans on filing an sBLA for RVO as well as wet AMD and DME in 2023 for approval of its drug.

Novartis’ Beovu uses a refillable implant; Regeneron’s Eylea (aflibercept), used off-label for treating wet macular degeneration, is also an anti-VEGF treatment; Ocuphire also currently developing their anti-VEGF treatment ABBV-RGX-314 is in phase two clinical development; they presented results at ASRS from an intravitreal delivery trial of its oral formulation (subretinal delivery trial for subretinal delivery trial in March 2019); Ashkan Abbey from Texas Retina Associates Dallas also presented on their manufacturing process for its drug development process for these treatments.

Susvimo® (ranibizumab)

Genentech, which is part of Roche Group, recently released two-year data from their Vabysmo YOSEMITE and RHINE studies for diabetic macular edema as well as their Susvimo Archway study for wet age-related macular degeneration. These studies support Susvimo’s clinical effectiveness as an FDA approved continuous-delivery system designed to suppress VEGF production in eyes while potentially improving visual outcomes through less injections compared with alternative treatments.

The new treatment offers an alternative to standard-of-care eye injections that are typically administered every six months and could decrease to two annually for patients suffering from neovascular AMD. The drug is delivered through an implant that slowly releases medication over time reducing injection needs significantly and also boasts smaller injection volumes than previous therapies allowing safer and more effective delivery of treatment.

This groundbreaking wet AMD treatment, introduced fifteen years after its predecessors were first approved, can provide significant functional independence with as few as two treatments annually – and is the first wet AMD therapy that does not involve directly injecting medicine into the eye itself.

FDA-approved medication to treat neovascular age-related macular degeneration that has the potential to reduce frequent eye injections and may help preserve vision over time, is macular oedema due to branch retinal vein occlusion or central retinal vein occlusion, in people with advanced wet AMD who do not respond or cannot take bevacizumab treatment.

The new treatment should become available in the United States in coming months and the company has pledged comprehensive services to assist patients in accessing it quickly and conveniently. These include free hotlines, dedicated support staff, mobile medical clinics, and quick dispensaries that ensure rapid medication distribution. It should be noted, however, that this medication is not a cure for AMD; regular eye exams will still need to be scheduled in order to monitor conditions and stop progression of disease progression.

Levodopa

The present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions intended for intraocular or oral administration that are effective in preventing, treating and/or suppressing age-related macular degeneration (in particular atrophic type or exudative type of age-related macular degeneration), or slowing its progression. These pharmaceutical compositions contain specific compounds with anti-lipid peroxidation properties.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive condition affecting the central portion of retina, manifested by accumulations of yellow deposits known as drusen beneath retinal pigment epithelium and associated with gradual reductions in eyesight that ranges from mild to severe. AMD symptoms may include blurred vision (amblyopia); colorblindness; distortion in central field of view (central scotoma); reduced overall eyesight (poor eyesight); loss of central area visual field).

Studies have been undertaken to examine the efficacy of combining levodopa and carbidopa with traditional patch occlusion for treating amblyopia, yet their overall impact was limited and transient; only two out of twelve studies demonstrated any significant measurable improvements with oral levodopa/carbidopa treatment combined with traditional patching occlusion.

Ranibizumab is the sole FDA-approved treatment for wet macular degeneration, working by blocking vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which triggers retinal neovascularization leading to wet AMD. Unfortunately, however, its painful injections every four weeks must also be considered part of its therapy; Susvimo offers anti-VEGF treatments which decrease this frequency down to as few as two treatments annually.

Researchers are exploring new medications to increase both safety and efficacy when treating neovascularization, and researchers are striving to find effective drugs. A recent Ophthalmology study investigated whether or not an eye ointment containing both levodopa and carbidopa can prevent wet macular degeneration by following a general formulating method: white petrolatum is homogenously mixed with liquid paraffin before adding methyldopa as its active compound, then stirring well to stirred well-and stirring is common practice when creating eye ointments containing multiple active agents ointments ointments; another general formulating method involves melting white petrolatum and liquid paraffin before adding the active compounds before stirring well-for further mixing them all together before the mix is stirred well before mixing well to avoid development of wet macular degeneration.

Brolucizumab

VSY Biotechnology’s treatment could make life better for people living with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Their anti-VEGF medication has already shown promise in treating diabetic macular edema; their humanized single-chain antibody fragment may even become the first one of its kind ever available on the market! They hope to begin testing it as part of a phase 3 clinical trial by 2022.

Brolucizumab is currently being evaluated as part of the KESTREL and KITE studies, where its efficacy in treating neovascular wet AMD will be evaluated against that offered by Aflibercept. Results should become available later this year.

Beovu would be an intravitreal injection administered directly into the eye. As a monoclonal antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), Beovu blocks its binding with receptors within the eye, thus preventing new blood vessel growth or leakage of fluid into it that could otherwise damage macula, an area responsible for sharp central vision.

VEGF-A inhibitors are cutting-edge medications in their class, boasting non-inferiority in blindness prevention studies. Furthermore, this therapy has proven its worth treating geographic atrophy and wet macular degeneration even among patients who have had prior laser treatment.

Beovu stands out among macular treatments because it can be taken at home without frequent office visits, making it convenient for use during an attack of macular degeneration. Be sure to adhere to your doctor’s instructions when taking this medication; any changes in dosage or frequency without first consulting your physician could have serious repercussions.

HAWK and HARRIER trials show that Beovu can significantly decrease the number of wet AMD patients who become blind by at least 20% over five years, making it superior to Aflibercept in reducing vision loss over three years. Their findings were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.