Biosimilars for Retinal Diseases: An Update

Abstract

Purpose: To review the biosimilars of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents for retinal diseases and provide an update about their development.

Design: Literature review.

Methods: A comprehensive literature review was performed for scientific articles, clinical trials, and press releases for the development of biosimilars in ophthalmology.

Results: To date, Razumab (Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Ahmedabad, GJ, India) is the only approved biosimilar for ophthalmic use, but the landscape will rapidly change in the future with multiple biosimilar candidates, which are currently in phase 3 trials, showing promising early results.

Conclusion: Biosimilars hold the potential to reduce the financial burden of the highly efficacious biologic therapy in retinal pathologies. However, the off-label bevacizumab may differentiate the success of biosimilars in different geographic regions.