A retrospective analysis of a wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) study found nearly half of patients treated with aflibercept could safely stop treatment after one year without further vision loss, versus 17% of patients receiving bevacizumab injections.

The 2013-2020 study of 106 patients and subsequent analysis were both performed at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, US. “Our results suggest that if we can match the right patient to the best therapy, many AMD patients may not need lifelong therapy,” said Professor Akrit Sodhi. “These results provide additional evidence that aflibercept and bevacizumab should not be considered interchangeable when treating AMD.”

Previous studies have shown the efficacy of longer intervals between treatments for aflibercept and that it may be more effective than bevacizumab for treating some wet-AMD patients, noted researchers. However, whether this small benefit justifies the significant additional expense of bimonthly aflibercept is debated by clinicians, they said.