Anthony DeFino , 2025-05-13 19:43:00
Key takeaways:
- Aflibercept 8 mg achieved sustained improvements in visual acuity and central retinal thickness.
- Some patients achieved extended dosing intervals beyond 16 weeks and 20 weeks.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Aflibercept 8 mg demonstrated sustained functional and anatomic improvements in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration through 156 weeks, according to a presenter.
At the Retina World Congress, David T. Wong, MD, FRCSC, DRCPSC, presented results from the PULSAR extension study, which builds on the initial PULSAR study investigating aflibercept 2 mg dosed every 8 weeks (336 patients), aflibercept 8 mg dosed every 12 weeks (335 patients) and aflibercept 8 mg dosed every 16 weeks (338 patients), all after three initial monthly injections. At 96 weeks as part of the extension study, 208 patients switched from aflibercept 2 mg to aflibercept 8 mg every 12 weeks, and 417 patients continued their previous aflibercept 8 mg dosing regimen.
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Anthony DeFino
“These findings are suggesting that patients with treatment-naive neovascular AMD can achieve a durable improvement with aflibercept 8 mg over this time period,” Wong said.
According to Wong, the mean best corrected visual acuity at 96 weeks was 66.9 letters, a “substantial improvement” from baseline, and the extension study showed a loss of less than three letters. The average number of total injections through week 156 was 17.5 among patients who switched from aflibercept 2 mg to aflibercept 8 mg and 12.7 among patients who received aflibercept 8 mg.
Central retinal thickness improved throughout the study duration, starting at 418 µm at baseline on average and decreasing to 274 µm among those in the aflibercept 8 mg group and 275 µm among those who switched from aflibercept 2 mg.
According to Wong, 40% of patients in the aflibercept 8 mg group achieved extended dosing intervals beyond 20 weeks, and 42% of those who switched to aflibercept 8 mg achieved dosing intervals beyond 16 weeks.
“Ocular and non-ocular safety is quite similar between both groups,” Wong said. “There were no safety signals.”
Sources/Disclosures
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Wong DT, et al. PULSAR extension: Clinical improvements sustained over 156 weeks with aflibercept 8 mg in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Presented at: Retina World Congress; May 8-11, 2025; Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Disclosures:
Wong reports receiving research grants from AbbVie, Alcon, Apellis, ArcticDx, Bausch Health, Bayer, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, Ripple Therapeutics, Roche, Topcon, Zeiss and 20/20 Innovation Hub. Please see the study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
