Angiogenesis Meeting to Highlight Latest in Technology, Translational Research, Clinical Trials
During the Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration 2023 conference, being held virtually February 10-11, an expert panel will present treatments for eye diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and hereditary retinal diseases.
The meeting is being held by the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, which serves as the department of ophthalmology for the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. This is the 20th annual Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Angiogenesis Meeting.
The meeting is divided into 11 sessions, each with multiple presentations, over a 2-day period. Session topics will include Predicting Disease Progression in Nonexudative AMD, Emerging and Current Therapies for Exudative AMD, Retinal Vascular Disease and Uveitis, and Hereditary Retinal Degenerations.
Speakers will provide updates on Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials, highlight prescription trends, and discuss technologies such as advances in machine learning and the frontiers of imaging technologies. In addition to the latest therapies targeting vascular endothelial growth factors, the meeting will highlight emerging therapies such as gene therapies, suprachoroidal injections, RNA-based therapies and more.
Among the presentations are data on 2 therapies with rapidly approaching Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) dates. The first is aflibercept for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), which the FDA expects to make a decision on by February 11, the second day of the angiogenesis conference.
ROP is a leading cause of childhood blindness worldwide, with 1,100 to 1,500 infants in the United States developing the disease severely enough to require medical treatment. The disease most commonly affects infants born before 31 weeks gestation or who weigh less than 3.3 pounds at birth.
The biologic supplemental application for aflibercept is supported by data from FIREFLEYE and BUTTERFLEYE, which are randomized global Phase 3 studies. BUTTERFLEYE results will be presented on day two of the meeting by Darius M. Moshfeghi, MD, Chief of the Retina Division and Professor, Horngren Family Vitreoretinal Center, Byers Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine.
Aflibercept is already approved in the US for the treatment of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration, macular edema following retinal vein occlusion, diabetic macular edema, and diabetic retinopathy.
The second drug with a pending approval date is Pegcetacoplan, for the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration. The PDUFA date is February 26th. This would be the first approved treatment option for GA.
At the meeting there will be an entire section devoted to reviewing the Pegcetacoplan results from the DERBY and OAKS studies. The speakers will present the 2-year results of the studies with Eleonora Lad, MD, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology at Duke University and review the basic properties and efficacy; Rishi Singh, MD, President of Cleveland Clinic Martin Health, Review of Safety and Exudative Changes; and Jeffrey S. Heier, MD, Director of Vitreoretinal Service and Director of Retina Research at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston, who provide a deeper look at the 2-year results.
In addition, Nadia K. Waheed, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Tufts University School of Medicine and Director of the Boston Image Reading Center, will share experiences from the OAKS study analyzing microperimetry in GA.
The meeting concludes with a presentation by Byron L. Lam, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, where he will discuss treatments and clinical trials for inherited retinal disorders.