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Approved a few months ago by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the injection of pegcetacoplan (Syfovre) is the first treatment for age-related macular degeneration, a major cause of blindness in adults. It should soon be available in Europe. The explanations of Dr Pierre-Raphaël Rothschild, ophthalmologist at Cochin Hospital.
Manufactured by Apellis laboratories, injectable pegcetacoplan is intended for the treatment of people affected by geographic atrophy linked to dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Geographic atrophy is the advanced stage of dry (or atrophic) AMD. It results in a progressive and irreversible loss of elements essential to sight (photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium and underlying choriocapillaris).
What is age-related macular degeneration?
AMD is a degeneration of the macula, the area of the retina that provides sharp central vision. There are two forms: the wet form and the dry form.
This treatment is intended for dry forms, but the disadvantage is that there is still, in this case, a gradual decline in vision. The treatment will therefore serve to slow the progression of the disease, rather than to treat it.
A treatment that costs more than 2000 dollars per bottle
This treatment, whose trade name is Syfovre, has just been approved a few weeks ago by the American health authorities (FDA), with the aim of treating patients suffering from geographic atrophy linked to AMD.
According to the results of clinical trials of this drug, maximum benefit has been shown”between 18 and 24 months after the start of treatment“, which makes it possible to reduce the growth of ocular lesions compared to a placebo. The injection of the product can be carried out every 25 to 60 days. Apellis laboratories already plan to sell pegcetacoplan at 2,190 dollars per bottle.
The event “the most important for more than ten years”
“The approval of the drug Syfovre is the most significant event in the field of retinal ophthalmology for more than a decade” says Dr. Eleonora Lad, Director of Clinical Research in Ophthalmology and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina in the United States.
“Until now, there has been no approved treatment to offer people living with knee OA as their vision relentlessly declines. With Syfovre, we finally have a safe and effective treatment for knee OA, a devastating disease whose effects increase over time.”.
The treatment, “under evaluation by the European Medicines Agency”should arrive in France within a few months.
The explanations of Dr Pierre-Raphaël Rothschild, ophthalmologist at Cochin Hospital, in Paris
“There was no treatment until now to slow down this pathology, unlike wet AMD for which injections already exist. These injections for the dry form will be able to slow the progression of the disease and stabilize it The two published studies show a stabilization of the atrophy affecting this form of AMD by 20%.The only drawback is that it is a rather heavy treatment, generally requiring at least one injection per month. But it represents real hope for affected patients. I believe treatment will be available within the next few months, following approval from the European Medicines Agency.”