VEGF Trap-Eye active against DME

A single intravitreal injection of 4.0 mg vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) Trap-Eye is associated with bioactivity against diabetic macular oedema (DME), according to study results published in the January issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Dr P. A. Campochiaro of the Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, US and colleagues treated DME patients (n=5) with a single VEGF Trap-Eye injection followed by six weeks of observation, during which the team assessed safety and biological activity. Pre-injection, each patient had a foveal thickness (FTH) of 250 µm (median excess central 1 mm FTH = 108 µm), with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) between 20/40 and 20/320; median BCVA was 36 ETDRS letters at 4 m (Snellen equivalent, 20/50).

Throughout the follow-up period, no ocular toxicity was observed in any of the patients. Four weeks after injection, the median excess FTH was 59 µm, with a median BCVA improvement of nine letters. By the end of the six-week follow-up period, four patients demonstrated an improvement in excess FTH (median reduction from baseline, 31%), and four demonstrated BCVA improvement (median improvement, three letters).

The researchers therefore concluded that the VEGF Trap-Eye injection was safe, as well as being associated with reduction in foveal thickness and improvement in corrected visual acuity in DME patients.