The high-dose version of Regeneron’s eye treatment Eylea hit its primary endpoint in a late-stage study for macular edema following retinal vein occlusion, a common eye disease where fluids build up in a part of the eye.
Those in the company’s
Phase 3 QUASAR trial
on Eylea HD every eight weeks had “non-inferior vision gains” at 36 weeks compared to patients taking regular Eylea, the standard of care, every four weeks.
“All currently FDA-approved anti-VEGF therapies for retinal vein occlusion require monthly dosing, which can be burdensome for a patient,” Seenu Hariprasad, chair of the department of ophthalmology and visual science at the University of Chicago, said in a statement. “These impressive data from QUASAR demonstrated that Eylea HD patients with retinal vein occlusion experienced improved vision with fewer injections than Eylea — which could offer a significant advancement in this treatment setting.”
Regeneron has looked to shift the market from Eylea to Eylea HD, which first won approval in August 2023 for wet age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy, as
biosimilars to Eylea come to market
. The New York-based company said it plans to expand Eylea HD’s label in the first quarter of next year with this latest clinical data in hand.
Leerink Partners analysts wrote in a Monday note that company management “intends to defend” Eylea’s market share against Amgen’s biosimilar Pavblu “because it wants to be in a strong position to drive conversion to HD.”
The analysts said that US Eylea HD sales are “currently constrained” by a lack of pre-filled syringes, monthly dosing requirement in the label, and the drug not yet having a retinal vein occlusion indication, which represents 15% of the market.
According to the Leerink analysts, Regeneron plans on launching pre-filled syringes by the middle of next year.
Bayer said
in its announcement
of the topline Eylea HD data that almost 70% of patients moved to dosing every 12 weeks at the week 32 mark of the trial, “potentially further alleviating the burden associated with frequent injections.”
Regeneron and Bayer are developing Eylea HD together, though Regeneron has exclusive rights to both Eylea and Eylea HD in the US, while Bayer has the exclusive marketing rights outside of the US. The companies share profits of both outside of the US.