A first-of-its-kind continuous delivery system of an anti-VEGF therapy to treat wet age-related macular degeneration is a step closer now patient enrolment for a phase III clinical trial is complete.
The multi-centre randomised trial, known as Archway, will be the first phase III trial to use a refillable eye implant with a port delivery system (PDS) to release a customised formulation of ranibizumab over several months.
“We are excited to announce that we have completed enrolment of the Archway trial…Wet AMD is a serious, vision-threatening condition and while effective treatments exist, they require as often as monthly injections which can be a burden to patients, their caregivers and the healthcare system; a burden which the PDS aims to address,” said study lead Dr Christopher Brittain of Genentech.
A phase II Ladder study showed 80 percent of patients using the PDS were able to go six months or longer between the implant of the device and the first required refill.
Dr Brittain added, “We are encouraged by the positive results seen in the phase 2 Ladder study and eagerly anticipate the results of Archway.”
