Fewer injections with brolucizumab needed to achieve sustained dryness in wet AMD

Fewer brolucizumab (Beovu; Novartis) injections were required to achieve sustained dryness over 96 weeks in patients with wet AMD compared with aflibercept, according to a presentation at the 2020 ASRS Virtual Meeting. Patients treated with brolucizumab achieved sustained dryness faster and more frequently.

A post-hoc analysis of the HAWK and HARRIER trials presented by Carl Regillo, MD showed that ≥50% of patients treated with brolucizumab achieved sustained retinal dryness by weeks 8 and 4 compared with weeks 12 and 8 in those treated with aflibercept. Sustained dryness was reached in ≥75% of patients treated with brolucizumab by weeks 32 in HAWK and by week 20 in HARRIER compared with by weeks 56 and 52 with aflibercept, respectively.

“In wet AMD, drying retinal fluid effectively is a key goal of treatment, with the amount of fluid in the retina determining how often injections are needed. Frequent injections can place substantial burden on patients, leading to treatment drop-off,” said Dirk Sauer, Development Unit Head, Novartis Ophthalmology, in a company press release. “This analysis gives us further confidence in Beovu as a highly efficacious option for rapid and sustained fluid control.”

Reference
Regillo C, et al. Number of injections and time to dry analysis of brolucizumab versus aflibercept in patients with neovascular AMD: 96-week data from HAWK and HARRIER. Presented at: 2020 ASRS Virtual Meeting.