Despite facing a highly touted competitor in Novartis' Beovu, Regeneron hasn't broken a sweat as blockbuster eye med Eylea continues to gobble up market share. Already in the lead in multiple indications, new two-year data could help Regeneron make the case for its drug in the preventive setting as well.
After two years, injectable Eylea sliced the risk of vision-threatening complications by 75% over placebo in patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, according to phase 3 data released Friday.
Regeneron touted the data as a case for physicians to use Eylea preventively, as 58% of patients in the phase 3 Panorama trial's control arm developed diabetic macular edema or compromised vision at the two-year mark.
The FDA approved Eylea in May to treat all stages of diabetic retinopathy, a condition that affects about 8 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of blindness in U.S. adults, the company said.
The administration based its nod on six- and 12-month data from the Panorama study showing Eylea significantly cut the risk of patients developing proliferative diabetic retinopathy when treated every eight and 16 weeks.
