Macular degeneration will be tested with the new drug Eylea in a late-stage clinical trial set to begin in China, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced on Monday.
Along with Bayer HealthCare, Regeneron’s plan is to test Eylea on 300 patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration, also known as "wet" AMD. Wet AMD often leads to blindness.
The study participants will either be given Eylea or photodynamic therapy with Visudyne.
Eylea was approved in the U.S. for the treatment of retinal disease on November 18th. If it is approved in China, the profits will be split between Bayer and Regeneron. Eylea will compete with Lucentis, a drug developed by Roche. Both drugs are administered by injection into the person’s eyes.
According to Edward Cox of the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Eylea is important to evaluate as a new potential treatment for those with wet AMD.
“It is a potentially blinding disease and the availability of new treatment options is important,” said Cox, as quoted by the Examiner.
According to some analysts, Eylea will dominate sales because it need only be administered once every two months, whereas Lucentis needs to be administered every month.
Regeneron shares went up $3.72, or 6.9 percent, to $57.50 in morning trading.
