A three-year study of Alimera Sciences’ Iluvien corticosteroid intravitreal implant (FAc) has demonstrated improved visual outcomes and reduced treatment burden in diabetic macular oedema (DMO) patients, reported researchers.
The phase-4 Paladin observational study of Iluvien (0.19-mg fluocinolone acetonide) involved 202 eyes in 159 DMO patients. The implant reduced median treatment frequency from 3.4 annual treatments to a single treatment per year, with 25.53% of the 94 eyes that completed the full 36-months remaining treatment-free, said study authors. Further, the safety profile established in an interim study was confirmed by Paladin, with statistically significant best-corrected visual acuity gains at day seven sustained at most subsequent time points, they reported, noting these corresponded with retinal thickness fluctuations which decreased post-implant.
Interestingly, in the completely separate Yosemite and Rhine phase-3 studies, which included 1,891 DMO patients, intravitreal faricimab, a novel angiopoietin-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor, effected “robust vision gains and anatomical improvements” after one year. Writing in The Lancet, researchers led by Dr Charles Wykoff, from Retina Consultants of Texas in the US, described adjustable dosing of faricimab up to every 16 weeks, noting the potential for the drug to extend the durability of treatment for DMO patients.
