Aflibercept – Setting its Sights on Diabetic Macular Oedema

A satellite symposium entitled ‘Aflibercept* – Setting Its Sights On Diabetic Macular Oedema (DMO)’ was chaired by Jean-François Korobelnik and was convened at the 2014 European Association for Vision and Eye Research (EVER) Congress. The symposium discussed the science behind DMO, in particular, the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and associated inflammatory mechanisms that alter fluid transport from capillaries into retinal tissues leading to focal leakage, fluid accumulation, macular damage and eventual blindness. This discussion of the pathophysiology emphasised the importance of VEGF as a target for DMO treatments. Management of diabetes and prevention of progression of diabetic retinopathy leading to DMO requires strict control of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure and lipid levels. Once DMO has developed and vision is impaired, the anti-VEGF agents have emerged as vital components of disease management and are becoming the first-line standard of care. Aflibercept (EYLEA®) and ranibizumab (Lucentis®) are approved agents for DMO and have shown significant efficacy in clinical trials in terms of visual acuity gains, decreased retinal thickness and have good safety profiles. The symposium finally focused on the use of aflibercept in DMO. In large-scale trials (VIVID and VISTA), this treatment has been compared head-to-head with laser treatment and during 1 year of treatment, showed substantial efficacy benefits, no new safety signals and the potential for lower frequency intravitreal dosing at 8- rather than 4-week intervals for monitoring andpro re natadosing.