For more info visit newsinfusion.com LEVEL Study Published in British Journal of Ophthalmology Evaluates Macugen as Maintenance Treatment for Patients with Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Palm Beach Gardens, FL - May 18, 2010 - Eyetech Inc. announced today that the British Journal of Ophthalmology (BJO) published online results from the LEVEL study evaluating MacugenTM (pegaptanib sodium) as a maintenance therapy in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This large, open-label, uncontrolled, exploratory study enrolled 568 patients who had been treated one to three times for neovascular AMD, primarily with a non-selective VEGF-inhibitor such as ranibizumab or bevacizumab. During this induction phase, the mean visual acuity improved by 15.9 letters (49.6 letters to 65.5 letters). After entering the study, patients were switched to Macugen, a selective VEGF-inhibitor, with the possibility of using additional treatments if needed. At the end of this 54-week maintenance phase, mean final visual acuity was 61.8 letters. From the beginning of the induction phase to the end of maintenance phase, an approximately 16-month follow-up, 41 percent of patients gained at least 3 lines of visual acuity. The study authors concluded that this induction-maintenance treatment strategy, using non-selective VEGF inhibitors then switching to Macugen, a selective VEGF inhibitor, may be an option for the long-term treatment of neovascular AMD. "A treatment protocol that combines the efficacy of a non-selective VEGF inhibitor with the safety profile of a selective VEGF inhibitor may be an attractive option, since elderly patients with AMD are already at increased risk of hypertension, stroke and other cardiovascular disease," said Thomas R. Friberg, M.D., lead investigator of the LEVEL study and Professor of Ophthalmology and Bio-Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. "This treatment approach may be of particular interest to retina specialists and their AMD patients with cardiovascular ...
