Vabysmo now available at the London Medical eye clinic

London Medical’s team of outstanding retinal specialists who, over many years, have built up a reputation for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic eye disease, now have available a new drug to help improve the visual outcomes of people with these conditions.

Vabysmo (faricimab-svoa) is the first bispecific antibody designed for the eye. It is the only available drug that targets and inhibits two disease pathways linked to a number of vision threatening retinal conditions. It neutralises angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) as well as vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), the standard target in retinal diseases.

Both Ang-2 and VEGF-A contribute to vision loss by destabilising blood vessels, causing new leaky blood vessels to form and increasing inflammation. Vabysmo is the only available drug that can block BOTH pathways involving Ang-2 as well as VEGF-A. It is approved for the treatment of the leading causes of vision loss – neovascular or wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macula oedema.

Along with diabetes-related retinopathy, diabetic macula oedema and wet age-related macular degeneration are two of the most common eye-related complications linked with diabetes and amongst the leading causes of blindness worldwide. 

A key advantage of Vabysmo is its more flexible dosing regimen, extending the time between treatments and reducing the number of injections to the eye. Eylea, for example, which is one of the most used agents in our clinic, must be administered by injection into the eye once every one to two months. Vabysmo, after a series of four monthly injections, can be taken once every one to four months depending on the vision outcomes.

As experience grows in the use of these two important drugs, we will learn more whether blocking both Ang-2 and VEGF-A have significant long-term advantages.

Mr Bishwanath Pal, Consultant Ophthalmologist at London Medical commented “It’s great to have another treatment option which will go a long way in decreasing the treatment burden. It offers hope to patients who did not respond well to the available anti-VEGF treatments”.

You can learn more about this treatment and discuss your options with your retinal specialist at London Medical