Novartis reveals more data for Eylea rival

pharmafile | May 1, 2018 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development |  biotech, drugs, pharma, pharmaceutical 

Building on the back of strong data released at the end of last year, Novartis has released further positive Phase 3 data on its treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), brolucizumab.

The company is hoping to displace Eylea as the dominant therapeutic in the area, and pointed towards patient tolerability of its 12-week regimen as another strength of brolucizumab.

The headline news from the announcement was that 87% and 83% of patients in two trials successfully completed quarterly treatment through to week 48, after completing a loading phase.

With Novartis data on its drug candidate, being able to offer a treatment at 12-week intervals is becoming essential, as patient adherence to a therapy that involves a direct injection to the eye is a significant challenge.

On top of this, the ability for the treatment to adequately manage the condition at these intervals is another selling point against Eylea.

Dirk Sauer, Development Unit Head, Novartis Ophthalmology said, “Here we show that success early on with brolucizumab appears strongly predictive of the ability of these patients to successfully maintain this 12-week treatment interval through week 48. We look forward to continuing to advance brolucizumab through regulatory approvals as a welcome new option for treatment of nAMD, which is a leading cause of blindness.”

Novartis is expected to file for approval of the drug later this year, but this still gives Regeneron/Bayer time to advance trials into 12-week dosage and file for a label extension.

However, Novartis can still use data revealed at the end of last year that showed reduced disease activity when comparing brolucizumab with Eylea as a reason for physicians to switch to its treatment, if approved.

Eylea managed sales of $3.7 billion in the US alone last year and Novartis will be hoping to be able to dent that sales figure significantly once it enters the market with brolucizumab. Analysts expect the drug to go onto become a blockbuster, with peak sales around the $2 billion mark.

Ben Hargreaves