Bayer and Regeneron Report Positive Top-Line Results of Two Phase 3 Studies

Bayer HealthCare and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that in two parallel Phase 3 studies in patients with the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), all regimens of VEGF Trap-Eye (aflibercept ophthalmic solution), including VEGF Trap-Eye dosed every two months, successfully met the primary endpoint compared to the current standard of care, ranibizumab dosed every month. The primary endpoint was statistical non-inferiority in the proportion of patients who maintained (or improved) vision over 52 weeks compared to ranibizumab. Further results will be presented at the Angiogenesis Conference in February 2011. Bayer HealthCare and Regeneron are planning to submit regulatory applications for marketing approval in Europe and the U.S. in the first-half of 2011 based on the positive results of the VIEW 1 and VIEW 2 trials.

In the North American VIEW 1 study, 96 percent of patients receiving VEGF Trap-Eye 0.5mg monthly, 95 percent of patients receiving VEGF Trap-Eye 2mg monthly, and 95 percent of patients receiving VEGF Trap-Eye 2mg every two months achieved maintenance of vision compared to 94 percent of patients receiving ranibizumab 0.5mg dosed every month. In the international VIEW 2 study, 96 percent of patients receiving VEGF Trap-Eye 0.5mg monthly, 96 percent of patients receiving VEGF Trap-Eye 2mg monthly, and 96 percent of patients receiving VEGF Trap-Eye 2mg every two months achieved maintenance of vision compared to 94 percent of patients receiving ranibizumab 0.5mg dosed every month. Visual acuity was measured as a score based on the total number of letters read correctly on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) eye chart, a standard chart used in research to measure visual acuity, over 52 weeks. Maintenance of vision was defined as losing fewer than three lines (equivalent to 15 letters) on the ETDRS eye chart.

Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth, M.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University Eye Hospital in Vienna, Austria and the VIEW 2 Principal Investigator said, The currently available anti-VEGF therapies have significantly advanced the treatment of wet AMD, actually improving vision in many patients. However, monthly injections are required to optimize and maintain vision gain over the long-term. The results of the VIEW studies indicate that VEGF Trap-Eye could establish a new treatment paradigm for the management of patients with wet AMD — predictable every-other-month dosing without the need for intervening monitoring or dosing visits.