David Tabano, PhD: Real-World Analysis of Faricimab for DME

David Tabano, PhD

Credit: ResearchGate

Early treatment extensions may indicate a positive anatomical response to faricimab in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME), according to a recent real-world analysis presented at the 2023 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting.

With over 2,300 eyes treated with faricimab for DME through August 2022, data showed vision stability among those receiving ≥4 injections of faricimab, with a majority of eyes extending treatment intervals during the 4 initial doses.

“The study is ongoing and we’re going to continue refreshing the data as it matures and as you get more read out, and we’re hoping to have a more robust cohort by the end of the year,” David Tabano, PhD, Senior Health Economist, Genentech, told HCPLive at ARVO 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The standard of care for DME, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents require frequent intravitreal injections. Currently, faricimab is the only bispecific antibody for intraocular use targeting both antiopoetin-2 and VEGF-A. However, there are limitations in currently available real-world data on patterns and outcomes of faricimab treatment.

The current analysis detailed the largest-real world evaluation of intravitreal injection frequency and clinical response of patients with DME initiating faricimab treatment in the FARETINA-DME study. The study is a retrospective, real-world study utilizing data collected from the IRIS registry, with data analyzed between February - August 2022 to identify faricimab starts among those with DME.

Investigators identified faricimab use using rules-based test search using regular expression keywords. Individuals with ≥12 months of electronic health record data prior to initiation and known laterality were included in the analysis. Patients receiving ≥4 faricimab injections were included in injection intervals and best-documented visual acuity (BDVA) analyses, with intervals categorized as extended if any interval was >6 weeks apart.

A total of 2,367 eyes (n = 1,894 patients) were treated with faricimab for DME, at a mean of 2.4 injections over a mean of 55.2 follow-up days. Of the population, 410 (17.3%) eyes were anti-VEGF treatment-naive, and 1,957 (82.7%) eyes were previously treated, with most (65.3%) previously treated eyes being treated with aflibercept. At faricimab initiation, approximately half of the study eyes (45% treatment-naive; 48% previously treated) had 20/40 or better BDVA at faricimab initiation.

The analysis showed 84 (20.5%) treatment-naive and 375 (19.2%) previously treated eyes received ≥4 injections, with the mean change in BDVA after 4 injections being 1.0 letter for previously treated eyes and 4.6 letters in treatment-naive eyes. Among those who received ≥4 injections, investigators found 51 (60.7%) of treatment-naive eyes and 238 (63.5%) of previously treated eyes had ≥1 extended injection interval among the initial 4 injections.

For more insight into the analysis, watch our full interview with Tabano at ARVO 2023 below:

Disclosures: David Tabano, PhD is employed by Genentech, Inc.

References

Tabano D, Borkar DS, Garmo V, Shaia JK, Kuo B, Myers R, LaPrise A, Leng T, Singh RP. FARETINA-DME- Early Treatment Patterns and Outcomes in Patients with Diabetic Macular Edema Treated with Faricimab: an IRIS RegistryTM Analysis. Presented at the 2023 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting; April 2023; New Orleans, LA.