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Visudyne fails to meet endpoint in occult CNV trial

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VANCOUVER, Canada — A drug for photodynamic therapy failed to meet the primary 2-year endpoint of a trial in patients with subfoveal occult choroidal neovascularization in wet age-related macular degeneration, the drug’s developer announced.

The phase 3 trial of Visudyne (verteporfin for injection, QLT/Novartis) was designed to determine whether photodynamic therapy with the drug could reduce the risk of vision loss in patients with subfoveal occult with no classic CNV in wet AMD. The Visudyne in Occult (VIO) trial was part of a broader series of studies conducted in patients with predominantly occult CNV, according to a press release from QLT.

While the multicenter, double-masked, randomized VIO trial did not meet its hoped-for outcome, two earlier trials, Visudyne in Photodynamic Therapy and Visudyne in Minimally Classic, showed evidence of the drug’s efficacy in this patient population, according to the release.

“The company is still conducting further analyses on relevant subgroups,” the press release said. “The results of the full efficacy and safety analyses together with the combined evidence from the three trials will be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the data and safety monitoring committee and advisory boards.”