Author(s): Glenn Yiu, MD, PhD
Fact checked by: Sheryl Stevenson
Frequent intravitreal injections for neovascular age-related macular degeneration present a long-term treatment burden, highlighting the need for innovative, durable solutions like gene therapy.
Key Takeaways
- Intravitreal anti-VEGF agents effectively manage nAMD but require frequent injections, leading to poor adherence and suboptimal outcomes.
- Gene therapy, such as ixoberogene soroparvovec, offers potential to reduce injection frequency by delivering sustained therapeutic protein levels.
- OPTIC and LUNA trials showed Ixo-vec’s efficacy in reducing injection burden while maintaining visual and anatomical outcomes in nAMD patients.
- The ARTEMIS trial is evaluating Ixo-vec’s safety and efficacy in a broader nAMD patient population, potentially transforming treatment approaches.
The introduction of intravitreal (IVT) anti-VEGF agents revolutionized the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Repeated IVT injections of anti-VEGF therapies effectively stabilize vision loss in the majority of patients with nAMD who adhere to treatment.1,2 However, the lifelong requirement for frequent injections and monitoring imposes a substantial burden on patients and caregivers, leading to poor adherence and suboptimal visual outcomes.2-9 Real-world discontinuation rates for anti-VEGF therapy have been reported as high as 42% by year 3, highlighting the long-term burden of chronic treatment.10 In addition, recent evidence suggests that the persistent fluctuation of retinal fluid volume, which results from oscillating peaks and troughs in therapeutic concentrations during intermittent anti-VEGF therapy, may lead to poor long-term visual outcomes.11-13
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Source: Ophthalmology Times