World Geographic Atrophy Day aims to empower individuals, heighten awareness

Dec. 5 is World Geographic Atrophy Day, a new initiative that seeks to empower individuals with this advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration and expand global advocacy, education and support efforts.

The inaugural event is a partnership between BrightFocus Foundation, Fighting Blindness Canada, Macular Society and Prevent Blindness, which for the third consecutive year has declared Dec. 4-10 Geographic Atrophy Awareness Week.

According to a Prevent Blindness press release, more than 8 million people worldwide have geographic atrophy, including an estimated 1 million in the United States.

“The good news is that promising new treatments for GA are now available, with additional options in development,” Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness, said in the release. “By working closely with their eye doctors, people with GA have hope to preserve their vision from the damaging effects of GA.”

Throughout the week, Prevent Blindness will offer free educational resources, social media graphics and expert videos, all of which are available on its website. A new episode of the Focus on Eye Health Expert Series also will be released, featuring Rajeev S. Ramchandran, MD, MBA, associate professor of ophthalmology at Flaum Eye Institute at University of Rochester Medical Center, who will discuss advancements in geographic atrophy treatment.

In recognition of both Geographic Awareness Week and World Geographic Atrophy Day, Healio has rounded up its most recent articles about treatment developments and management recommendations.

Izervay receives FDA approval for geographic atrophy

The FDA approved Izervay, a complement C5 inhibitor, for the treatment of geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, according to a press release from Astellas Pharma.

The approval was supported by data from the GATHER1 and GATHER2 phase 3 clinical trials in which monthly 2 mg injections of Izervay (avacincaptad pegol intravitreal solution) demonstrated a statistically significant reduction (P < .01) in the rate of geographic atrophy growth at 12 months. The slowing in disease progression was seen as early as 6 months, while up to a 35% reduction in progression occurred in the first year of treatment. Read more.

Pegcetacoplan safe, effective over 24 months in patients with geographic atrophy

Pegcetacoplan slowed lesion growth and was well-tolerated when given monthly or every other month in patients with geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, according to a presenter at Academy ’23.

In a pooled analysis of the phase 3 OAKS and DERBY trials, patients aged 60 years and older with geographic atrophy (GA) were randomized to intravitreal pegcetacoplan monthly, pegcetacoplan every other month, sham monthly or sham every other month. The primary outcome of interest was change from baseline in GA lesion area by fundus autofluorescence at 24 months. Read more.

VIDEO: ODs, MDs agree on diagnosis, referral guidelines for geographic atrophy

Optometrists, ophthalmologists and retinal specialists surveyed agreed that patients with geographic atrophy should be monitored every 6 months with OCT and fundus autofluorescence, according to Mohammad Rafieetary, OD, FAAO.

In a poster presented at Optometry’s Meeting, Rafieetary, of Charles Retina Institute in Germantown, Tennessee, and colleagues reported that these specialists agreed patients with geographic atrophy should be evaluated from a structure standpoint vs. a function standpoint. Watch here.

Avacincaptad pegol well-tolerated, slows geographic atrophy at 12 months in dry AMD

The complement component 5 inhibitor avacincaptad pegol may have potential as a treatment to reduce geographic atrophy lesion growth and slow progression of disease, according to a study published in The Lancet.

“The results of GATHER2 showed that monthly C5 inhibition with avacincaptad pegol 2 mg showed slower geographic atrophy growth compared with sham treatment and was well-tolerated over 12 months of treatment,” Arshad M. Khanani, MD, director of clinical research at Sierra Eye Associates and clinical associate professor at University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. Read more.

Novartis discontinues development of GT005 for geographic atrophy

Novartis is discontinuing the development of GT005 for the treatment of geographic atrophy secondary to dry age-related macular degeneration, according to a press release from Syncona.

The decision by Novartis to stop the development of the AAV2-based gene therapy was based on a recommendation from an independent data monitoring committee “following an overall benefit-risk assessment of available data from the [program] studies, which concluded that overall data from the lead phase 2 HORIZON study did not support continuation of the development [program],” the release said. Read more.

ANX007 for geographic atrophy receives priority medicine designation from EMA

The European Medicines Agency granted priority medicine designation to ANX007 for the treatment of geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, according to a press release from Annexon Biosciences.

“PRIME designation for ANX007 is an important and exciting step for the entire field of ophthalmology retina specialists,” Douglas Love, president and CEO of Annexon, told Healio. “The designation represents external regulatory validation of both the unmet medical need for geographic atrophy that the field well recognizes and, more specifically, the strength of the data from the ARCHER trial that was the first to demonstrate a durable and dose-dependent potential benefit for patients by preserving visual function.” Read more.