New treatment for diabetic retinopathy?

[Chypre]

I am type 2 and have been diagnosed with PDR in both eyes.  I've been getting Lucentis injections and they have improved my vision.  The retina specialist said there is a new drug about to get FDA approval and he thinks it will work better for me than Lucentis.  Can anybody tell me anything about this drug?  And what will it cost?

[Doreen Fazio, M.D.]

I also believe that the drug which your doctor mentioned may be Fovista.  It does sound very promising.  In addition to anti-VEGF injections, PDR (proliferative diabetic retinopathy) is also treated with laser (panretinal photocoagulation) to try to decrease the ischemic stimulus to produce VEGF.  This is because, although the anti-VEGF drugs work well, their effect is temporary; the laser effect is more permanent.

[Chypre]

Thanks all.  I feel a little more hopeful now.

[flossy93]

Here is one more recent article which gives a very good overview of the combination therapies being explored for retinal disorders with bleeding:

http://www.retinalphysician.com/articleviewer.aspx?articleID=109107

FYI in the article Fovista is the drug described as 'the anti-VEGF and anti-PDGF combo developed by Ophthotech.'

FYI in the future it sounds like drug companies will also be focusing on less invasive methods of delivering the drugs, rather than the intravitreal injections now required.  But that's farther down the line.  

[flossy93]

I saw a new retina specialist last week and he also mentioned a new drug that's in late clinical trials for retinal bleeding/abnormal vessels.  If it's the same one your doctor mentioned, the brand name is Fovista.  

His description of it was that it was an 'anti-platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)' drug targeted at the very tip of new blood vessels growing in the eye.  Generally, it is supposed to have the effect of stunting the growth of the vessels as well as making them more susceptible to treatment by anti-VEGF agents.  

Fovista is being tested in combination with an anti-VEGF agent such as Lucentis or Avastin, and compared to the efficacy of anti-VEGF agents alone.  From what I've read so far it sounds promising, although the tests have typically been in patients with wet AMD rather than PDR.  I don't know if there have been tests targeted at patients with diabetic retinopathy, but you could Google it to investigate.  

Because it's used as a combination agent, administering the drug right now requires two injections - one of Fovista and the other of an anti-VEGF agent.  I don't know if it will eventually be 'packaged' together with the anti-VEGF agent in one syringe/injection.  Some drugs don't like to be mixed together so it may not be possible.

Here are two articles about tests of this drug.  There are lots more on the Internet if you do some searching.  

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/805479_3

http://bmctoday.net/retinatoday/2012/05/article.asp?f=anti-pdgf-combination-agent-more-effective-than-ranibizumab-monotherapy-for-wet-amd

Next time you see your doctor, ask for the name of the drug he/she is watching - that way you can keep an eye on the FDA website and other sources to see when it is approved.   Good luck!