Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth1, Peter K Kaiser2, Jean-François Korobelnik3, David M Brown4, Victor Chong5, Quan Dong Nguyen6, Allen C Ho7, Yuichiro Ogura8, Christian Simader1, Glenn J Jaffe9, Jason S Slakter10, George D Yancopoulos11, Neil Stahl11, Robert Vitti11, Alyson J Berliner11, Yuhwen Soo11, Majid Anderesi12, Olaf Sowade12, Oliver Zeitz13, Christiane Norenberg12, Rupert Sandbrink14, Jeffrey S Heier15. 1. Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. 2. Department of Ophthalmology, Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland, Ohio. 3. Department of Ophthalmology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux, Université Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France. 4. Retina Consultants of Houston, Houston, Texas. 5. Oxford Eye Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. 6. Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. 7. Wills Eye Hospital and Mid Atlantic Retina, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 8. Department of Ophthalmology, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan. 9. Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. 10. Vitreous-Retina-Macula Consultants of New York, New York, New York. 11. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Tarrytown, New York. 12. Bayer HealthCare, Berlin, Germany. 13. Bayer HealthCare, Berlin, Germany; Universitatsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Klinik und Poliklinik fur Augenheilkunde, Hamburg, Germany. 14. Bayer HealthCare, Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany. 15. Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: jsheier@eyeboston.com.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To determine efficacy and safety of intravitreal aflibercept in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during a second year of variable dosing after a first-year fixed-dosing period. DESIGN: Two randomized, double-masked, active-controlled, phase 3 trials. PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand four hundred fifty-seven patients with neovascular AMD. METHODS: From baseline to week 52, patients received 0.5 mg intravitreal ranibizumab every 4 weeks (Rq4), 2 mg aflibercept every 4 weeks (2q4), 0.5 mg aflibercept every 4 weeks (0.5q4), or 2 mg aflibercept every 8 weeks (2q8) after 3 monthly injections. During weeks 52 through 96, patients received their original dosing assignment using an as-needed regimen with defined retreatment criteria and mandatory dosing at least every 12 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of eyes at week 96 that maintained best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA; lost <15 letters from baseline); change from baseline in BCVA. RESULTS: Proportions of eyes maintaining BCVA across treatments were 94.4% to 96.1% at week 52 and 91.5% to 92.4% at week 96. Mean BCVA gains were 8.3 to 9.3 letters at week 52 and 6.6 to 7.9 letters at week 96. Proportions of eyes without retinal fluid decreased from week 52 (60.3% to 72.4%) to week 96 (44.6% to 54.4%), and more 2q4 eyes were without fluid at weeks 52 and 96 than Rq4 eyes (difference of 10.4% [95% confidence interval {CI}, 4.9-15.9] and 9.0% [95% CI, 3.0-15.1]). Patients received on average 16.5, 16.0, 16.2, and 11.2 injections over 96 weeks and 4.7, 4.1, 4.6, and 4.2 injections during weeks 52 through 96 in the Rq4, 2q4, 0.5q4, and 2q8 groups, respectively. The number of injections during weeks 52 through 96 was lower in the 2q4 and 2q8 groups versus the Rq4 group (differences of -0.64 [95% CI, -0.89 to -0.40] and -0.55 [95% CI, -0.79 to -0.30]; P < 0.0001, post hoc analysis). Incidences of Antiplatelet Trialists' Collaboration-defined arterial thromboembolic events were similar across groups (2.4% to 3.8%) from baseline to week 96. CONCLUSIONS: All aflibercept and ranibizumab groups were equally effective in improving BCVA and preventing BCVA loss at 96 weeks. The 2q8 aflibercept group was similar to ranibizumab in visual acuity outcomes during 96 weeks, but with an average of 5 fewer injections. Small losses at 96 weeks in the visual and anatomic gains seen at 52 weeks in all arms were in the range of losses commonly observed with variable dosing.
RCT Entities:
PURPOSE: To determine efficacy and safety of intravitreal aflibercept in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during a second year of variable dosing after a first-year fixed-dosing period. DESIGN: Two randomized, double-masked, active-controlled, phase 3 trials. PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand four hundred fifty-seven patients with neovascular AMD. METHODS: From baseline to week 52, patients received 0.5 mg intravitreal ranibizumab every 4 weeks (Rq4), 2 mg aflibercept every 4 weeks (2q4), 0.5 mg aflibercept every 4 weeks (0.5q4), or 2 mg aflibercept every 8 weeks (2q8) after 3 monthly injections. During weeks 52 through 96, patients received their original dosing assignment using an as-needed regimen with defined retreatment criteria and mandatory dosing at least every 12 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of eyes at week 96 that maintained best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA; lost <15 letters from baseline); change from baseline in BCVA. RESULTS: Proportions of eyes maintaining BCVA across treatments were 94.4% to 96.1% at week 52 and 91.5% to 92.4% at week 96. Mean BCVA gains were 8.3 to 9.3 letters at week 52 and 6.6 to 7.9 letters at week 96. Proportions of eyes without retinal fluid decreased from week 52 (60.3% to 72.4%) to week 96 (44.6% to 54.4%), and more 2q4 eyes were without fluid at weeks 52 and 96 than Rq4 eyes (difference of 10.4% [95% confidence interval {CI}, 4.9-15.9] and 9.0% [95% CI, 3.0-15.1]). Patients received on average 16.5, 16.0, 16.2, and 11.2 injections over 96 weeks and 4.7, 4.1, 4.6, and 4.2 injections during weeks 52 through 96 in the Rq4, 2q4, 0.5q4, and 2q8 groups, respectively. The number of injections during weeks 52 through 96 was lower in the 2q4 and 2q8 groups versus the Rq4 group (differences of -0.64 [95% CI, -0.89 to -0.40] and -0.55 [95% CI, -0.79 to -0.30]; P < 0.0001, post hoc analysis). Incidences of Antiplatelet Trialists' Collaboration-defined arterial thromboembolic events were similar across groups (2.4% to 3.8%) from baseline to week 96. CONCLUSIONS: All aflibercept and ranibizumab groups were equally effective in improving BCVA and preventing BCVA loss at 96 weeks. The 2q8 aflibercept group was similar to ranibizumab in visual acuity outcomes during 96 weeks, but with an average of 5 fewer injections. Small losses at 96 weeks in the visual and anatomic gains seen at 52 weeks in all arms were in the range of losses commonly observed with variable dosing.
Authors: Anthony Obeid; Xinxiao Gao; Ferhina S Ali; Christopher M Aderman; Abtin Shahlaee; Murtaza K Adam; Sundeep K Kasi; Leslie Hyman; Allen C Ho; Jason Hsu Journal: JAMA Ophthalmol Date: 2018-11-01 Impact factor: 7.389
Authors: Philip Hykin; A Toby Prevost; Sobha Sivaprasad; Joana C Vasconcelos; Caroline Murphy; Joanna Kelly; Jayashree Ramu; Abualbishr Alshreef; Laura Flight; Rebekah Pennington; Barry Hounsome; Ellen Lever; Andrew Metry; Edith Poku; Yit Yang; Simon P Harding; Andrew Lotery; Usha Chakravarthy; John Brazier Journal: Health Technol Assess Date: 2021-06 Impact factor: 4.014