Bayer AG and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s blockbuster eye drug reached another clinical milestone by showing sustained efficacy in trials that could help the companies push back against a competing product from Roche Holding AG.
Giving 8 milligrams of the drug, Eylea, continued to protect patients from developing vision problems even as they received injections every 16 weeks, Bayer said in a statement on Saturday.
The trials included people suffering from two forms of eye disease that involve blood vessel malfunction. The 8-milligram dosing is being studied in comparison with patients who receive standard 2-milligram doses of Eylea on a more frequent basis.
This latest round of data expands on Bayer’s previous statement on the matter from September. The companies are hoping to extend the patent for the aging therapy and fend off competition from Roche’s newcomer Vabysmo.
One trial tested Eylea in people with wet age-related macular degeneration. The other focused on patients with an eye disorder brought on by diabetes.
Regeneron posted $5.8 billion in sales for Eylea last year in the U.S., while Germany-based Bayer — which markets the drug in the rest of the world — had revenue of 4.7 billion euros ($4.67 billion).
(Rainer Buergin contributed.)
