Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Sep 29:16:3395-3400.
doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S368963. eCollection 2022.

Spotlight on Faricimab in the Treatment of Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Design, Development and Place in Therapy

Archana A Nair  1 , Avni P Finn  1 , Paul Sternberg Jr  1
Affiliations
Review

Spotlight on Faricimab in the Treatment of Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Design, Development and Place in Therapy

Archana A Nair et al. Drug Des Devel Ther. .

Abstract

The advent of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents has revolutionized the treatment of retinal neovascular diseases including neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), a leading cause of irreversible blindness. Multiple agents and methods for drug delivery are emerging to increase the duration of treatment effect and treatment interval, reducing the overall treatment burden on patients and clinicians. The newest agent on the market is faricimab. This medication targets two distinct pathways in retinal angiogenesis, VEGF-A and Ang-2, to create a more durable effect. Phase 3 trials for this drug compared treatment intervals up to 16 weeks against aflibercept dosed at 8-week intervals for both nAMD and diabetic macular edema (DME). While the drug shows similar functional and anatomic outcomes with a low adverse effect profile and trial data demonstrating increased treatment duration, its exact place in the VEGF marketplace is yet to be determined. In this article, we discuss the mechanism of action, pivotal clinical trials leading to approval, and the anticipated role for faricimab in the treatment of retinal neovascular disease.

Keywords: CNVM; anti-VEGF; anti-vascular endothelial growth factor; choroidal neovascularization; faricimab; macular degeneration; nAMD; neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Dr Archana A Nair participated on an advisory board for Eyepoint, outside the submitted work. Dr Avni P Finn is a member of the advisory board for Genentech, Allergan, Eyepoint, and Alimera, outside the submitted work. Dr Paul Sternberg Jr reports personal fees from and a consultant for Novartis; personal fees from Outlook Therapeutics and DRCR network, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

References

    1. Apte RS. Reducing treatment burden in AMD. Cell. 2020;180(6):1033. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2020.02.028 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bressler SB. Introduction: understanding the role of angiogenesis and antiangiogenic agents in age-related macular degeneration. Ophthalmology. 2009;116(10 Suppl):S1–7. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2009.06.045 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Leung DW, Cachianes G, Kuang WJ, Goeddel DV, Ferrara N. Vascular endothelial growth factor is a secreted angiogenic mitogen. Science. 1989;246(4935):1306–1309. doi:10.1126/science.2479986 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Miller JW, Adamis AP, Shima DT, et al. Vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular permeability factor is temporally and spatially correlated with ocular angiogenesis in a primate model. Am J Pathol. 1994;145(3):574–584. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gragoudas ES, Adamis AP, Cunningham ET Jr, Feinsod M, Guyer DR; Group VISiONCT. Pegaptanib for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. N Engl J Med. 2004;351(27):2805–2816. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa042760 - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms