Study Assesses Efficacy of Brolucizumab for Wet AMD

Intravitreal-administered anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents have changed the treatment paradigm for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but real-world evidence shows patients lose visual acuity over time due to a high treatment burden. In addition, some patients who are treated with maximum therapy still have active disease and fluid. The recently approved anti-VEGF brolucizumab is indicated for wet AMD. A study found that brolucizumab effectively controls wet AMD disease activity, as well as decreases the treatment burden by extended treatment interval. The results of the study were published as part of the American Society of Retina Specialists 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting.

This multicenter, real-world, retrospective study evaluated the safety and efficacy of brolucizumab and included both treatment-naïve patients (n=21; 7.4%) and those who switched to brolucizumab from other anti-VEGF agents (n=263; 92.6%).

A majority of patients were female (n=166; 58.9%), and the mean patient age was 81.2 years (range, 51-99 years). The most common reason for switching to brolucizumab was persistent fluid (n=168; 63.9%). Patients received a mean 2.4 brolucizumab injections (range, 1-8 injections).

About half of patients discontinued brolucizumab (n=147; 54.4%), most commonly out of caution following reports of intraocular inflammation (n=129; 86%). Twelve patients (8%) discontinued due to adverse events (AEs). Fourteen total AEs occurred, including uveitis (n=10; 3.7%), pain (n=3; 1.1%), and occlusive vasculitis (n=1; 0.37%).

Patients who received at least three brolucizumab injections saw improvements across multiple measures, including the proportion of patients with no intraretinal fluid, subretinal fluid, or pigment epithelial detachment (PED); measurements of central retinal thickness and PED height; and Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study Letters score.

London NJS, Khanani AM, Thompson MM, et al. Treating Neovascular AMD Patients with Brolucizumab: A Real-World Study. Presented during the ASRS 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2020.