Response to SMC Decision to accept Eylea for wet AMD
11 April 2013
Statement from The Royal College of Ophthalmologists
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists welcomes the SMC decision to recommend Aflibercept (Eylea®) as a treatment for neovascular AMD. Aflibercept is a soluble vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor fusion protein which binds to all forms of VEGF and inhibits its actions. This drug has been shown in licensing trials to both maintain and in some one third of eyes treated with Eylea® to improve visual function. The recommended dose for Eylea® is 2mg (0.05ml) administered by intravitreal injection monthly for the first three months and then every two months.
The advantage of Eylea® over existing treatments is its longer duration of action in the eye which can lead to fewer intraocular injections. The addition of Eylea® to the growing number of biological that are used in the management of neovascular AMD will help clinicians through providing a wider choice in the selection of the most optimum treatment for their patients.
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