Faricimab in neovascular AMD: first report of real-world outcomes in an independent retina clinic

Paulo Eduardo Stanga; Francisco Javier Valentín-Bravo; Sebastian Eduardo Francis Stanga; Ursula Inge Reinstein; Salvador Pastor-Idoate; Susan M Downes

doi:10.1038/s41433-023-02505-z

Faricimab in neovascular AMD: first report of real-world outcomes in an independent retina clinic

Eye (Lond). 2023 Oct;37(15):3282-3289. doi: 10.1038/s41433-023-02505-z. Epub 2023 Mar 23.

Authors

Paulo Eduardo Stanga^{1

2}, Francisco Javier Valentín-Bravo³, Sebastian Eduardo Francis Stanga³, Ursula Inge Reinstein³, Salvador Pastor-Idoate³, Susan M Downes³

Affiliations

¹ The Retina Clinic London, 140 Harley Street, London, W1G 7LB, UK. p.stanga@theretinacliniclondon.com.
² UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, 11-43 Bath Street, London, EC1V 9EL, UK. p.stanga@theretinacliniclondon.com.
³ The Retina Clinic London, 140 Harley Street, London, W1G 7LB, UK.

PMID: 36959312
PMCID: PMC10564726 (available on 2024-10-01)
DOI: 10.1038/s41433-023-02505-z

Abstract

Purpose: Assess short-term real-world outcomes in neovascular aged-related macular degeneration (nAMD) treated with novel faricimab.

Methods: Retrospective case series of nine patients with nAMD (11 eyes) treated with faricimab between May and November 2022. Treatment-naïve patients and non-naïve patients underwent logMAR best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), optical coherence tomography (OCT) DRI OCT-1 Triton (Topcon Corp, Tokyo, Japan), ultra-widefield (UWF) and fundus autofluorescence (FAF) (California Optomap, Optos plc, Dunfermline, Scotland, UK). Previous treatment intervals, number of intravitreal injections, sub/intra retinal fluid (SRF/IRF), central retinal thickness (CRT) and presence/changes in pigment epithelial detachments (PEDs) were recorded.

Results: Mean baseline BCVA and CRT values of patients who switched from other agents were 0.612 ± 0.75 logMAR and 256.16 ± 12.98 µm respectively, with a mean 36-day previous treatment interval. The median number of other previous anti-VEGF intravitreal injections was 8. Mean BCVA at one month significantly improved to 0.387 ± 0.54 logMAR, as well as CRT values which decreased to 245.43 ± 15.34 µm. In the 3 naïve patients, mean baseline BVCA and CRT values were 0.33 ± 0.29 and 874.67 ± 510.86 µm, respectively. At one month follow-up, mean BCVA improved to 0.30 ± 0.29 logMAR and mean CRT was 536.04 ± 36.15 µm. Overall, a significant improvement in BCVA of 0.21 ± 41 logMAR and 238.44 ± 114.9 µm was achieved at one month after the first faricimab intravitreal injection. In addition, a complete resolution of SRF was observed in 6 out of 8 eyes (75%) and of IRF in 2 out of 3 eyes (66.67%), respectively. Drusenoid PED morphology changes were observed in all patients and no drug-related adverse events were observed.

Conclusion: Real-world outcomes showed improvement in BCVA and anatomic parameters at an early timepoint, demonstrating the efficacy and durability of faricimab in nAMD patients. Larger numbers of patients and longer follow-up are needed to determine whether the loading dose is required in all, what percentage of patients experience an improvement, and whether improvement it is maintained.