Brolucizumab’s Promising Start and Unforeseen Challenges in AMD Treatment

Brolucizumab, marketed by Novartis under the name Beovu, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in late 2019 as a promising treatment option for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Beovu is a single-chain antibody fragment (scFv), the smallest functional subunit of an antibody molecule, approved for the first time across all fields of medicine¹.

The medication's initial entry into the market generated substantial interest within the ophthalmic community due to its potential to deliver superior drying effects and extended dosing intervals of 8–12 weeks for nAMD patients.

However, the initial optimism has been dampened by reports of adverse events tied to immunogenicity. These events were not previously associated with other anti-VEGF agents used for the same indication, leaving the medical community puzzled about the drug’s underlying mechanisms. Although the medication has been approved in over 70 countries and was considered safe during pre-approval testing, it has been found that Brolucizumab triggered severe intraocular complications, such as retinal vasculitis and retinal vascular obstruction in some patients².

In the dynamic landscape of medical innovation, the case of Brolucizumab, marketed as Beovu, highlights the intricate balance between the promise of novel treatments and the imperative of patient safety.

In the midst of these ongoing developments, a spokesperson from VSY Biotechnology GmbH signaled that the Germany-based company is readying to introduce a new anti-VEGF agent for AMD patients, aiming to bridge the existing gap in treatment options. The source reported that VSY Biotechnology is on the brink of unveiling this groundbreaking medicine, promising new hope for the management of AMD with a safer profile.

VSY Biotechnology's upcoming announcement is eagerly awaited by the ophthalmic community, and it holds the potential to offer a much-needed alternative for AMD patients who seek effective and safer treatments.

References

1. A root cause analysis to identify the mechanistic drivers of immunogenicity against the anti-VEGF biotherapeutic brolucizumab | Science Translational Medicine

2. Anette C. Karle et al, Anti-brolucizumab immune response as one prerequisite for rare retinal vasculitis/retinal vascular occlusion adverse events, Science Translational Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abq5241