Human eye cross-sectional view. Courtesy NIH N...Image via Wikipedia

VEGF Trap-Eye is a formulation of VEGF Trap (aflibercept) and is an anti-angiogenic agent that can be injected into the eye to stop the proliferation of blood vessels. Regeneron (REGN) are co-developing it with Bayer (BAY) and it is currently in clinical trials for the treatment of wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) and Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO).

Phase II DME clinical trial results presented at the
Angiogenesis 2010 meeting in Miami showed the primary endpoint of a
statistically significant increase in visual acuity over 24 weeks compared to
the standard of care (laser treatment) was met.

There are high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) associated with DME, so the news that VEGF Trap-Eye has biological activity in this disease is positive.What makes this data promising is the fact that DME is the leading cause of blindness in adults under 50 and there are 370,000 Americans with clinically significant DME with 95,000 new cases a year.

The ability to treat DME by an eye injection, rather than use an expensive laser will make it easier to treat the disease. It will be interesting to see what how the cost of treatment with VEGF Trap-Eye compares to laser therapy procedures, should the agent make it to market.

The recent pricing issue faced by Genentech with its VEGF inhibitors Lucentis
(eye indications) and Avastin (oncologic indications) are also relevant because
Regeneron are developing VEGF-Trap in cancer with it’s partner sanofi-aventis
(a client).

For VEGF Trap-Eye, Regeneron retains all U.S. marketing
rights, while Bayer has rights to market ex-US in return for a 50/50 profit
share with Regeneron.The results so far look promising and aflibercept looks like an interesting agent well worth watching as the development moves forward.

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