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TOPLINE:

A study on lampalizumab injections for patients with geographic atrophy found the drug to be associated with a low risk for persistent alterations in intraocular pressure over a year. 

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a post hoc analysis of two phase 3 clinical trials (CHROMA and SPECTRI) to evaluate the safety of intravitreous injections of lampalizumab in patients aged > 50 years with bilateral geographic atrophy.
• All participants were randomly assigned to receive injections of 0.1 mL of lampalizumab or placebo every 4-6 weeks for 48 weeks.
• Intraocular pressure was measured at screening, baseline, and before treatment at every study visit.

TAKEAWAY:

• No significant change in the mean preinjection intraocular pressure values was observed through 48 weeks in either arm of the study.
• The majority of changes from baseline preprocedural intraocular pressure were less than 6 mm Hg, indicating minimal fluctuations.
• For participants with a maximum preprocedural intraocular pressure of ≥ 21 mm Hg than baseline, an increase of 6 or 8 mm Hg was slightly more frequent in the lampalizumab group than in the group who received placebo injections.
• The incidences of glaucoma and ocular hypertension were low in both groups of patients.

IN PRACTICE:

"This information could be pivotal for clinicians considering lampalizumab for patients with geographic atrophy, offering a new avenue for treatment," with manageable side effects related to intraocular pressure, the authors of the study wrote. 

SOURCE:

The study was led by Neil M. Bressler, MD, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and published online on June 20, 2024, in JAMA Ophthalmology.

LIMITATIONS:

The methodology for measuring intraocular pressure was not standardized across all study sites. Ocular axial length and scleral rigidity were not measured, which could have affected the clinical interpretation of intraocular pressure. The study did not include a placebo injection group to isolate the intraocular pressure effect of lampalizumab independent of the volume of vehicle injected.

DISCLOSURES:

Funding for the study was provided by Genentech. The authors declared receiving grants, personal fees, and other support from various sources.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.