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Anti-VEGF conbercept developed for AMD treatment
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MIAMI — Phase 3 PHOENIX study data show a strong anatomic benefit of conbercept treatment, an anti-VEGF developed in China, a speaker said here.
“There is a strong benefit of conbercept treatment on anatomic outcomes that support the visual acuity results for neovascular AMD,” Ronald P. Danis, MD, said at the Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration 2014 meeting. Conbercept was approved for use in China for age-related macular degeneration in December.
Ronald P. Danis
The PHOENIX study, whose primary morphologic outcome was mean change in center retinal thickness seen on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography at 3 months, was designed in a 2:1 randomization, with one group of patients receiving 0.5 mg conbercept and the other group receiving sham. In the conbercept arm, patients received three fixed monthly treatments, then two fixed monthly sham injections and then conbercept again every 3 months to month 12. In the sham arm, patients were given three monthly fixed injections, then crossed over to treatment.
In the change analysis of the center subfield thickness, at 3 months, the treated group had a statistically significant decrease of 79 µm, whereas the control group had a non-statistically significant decrease of 44 µm.
“At 12 months, the control group has crossed over to treatment and has a much larger decrease, whereas the treatment group is about the same in the reduction from baseline,” Danis said.
Treated eyes had a rapid response seen on OCT, not only for center subfield thickness but also for subretinal fluid maximal height, and there was a sustained benefit through the extended treatment period. Although not statistically significant, there were reductions also in retinal pigment epithelium lesion thickness complex in eyes after treatment, Danis said
“Control eyes showed a similar treatment benefit on OCT and fluorescein when they crossed over to conbercept treatment,” Danis said.
Disclosure: Danis has no relevant financial disclosures. Study sponsor Kanghong Pharmaceuticals, Chengdu, China, provided research funding to the University of Wisconsin Fundus Photograph Reading Center.