Diabetic Macular Edema | Decision Base | US | 2015
How Will the Complex Interplay Between Efficacy, Safety, and Delivery Impact Retinal Specialists’ Preferences for and Payers’ Acceptance of Current and Emerging Therapies?
Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a vision-threatening condition affecting nearly 5 million people in the seven major markets under study (United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, and Japan), and the prevalent population is anticipated to grow to 6.4 million by 2023. The anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agent ranibizumab (Roche/Genentech/Novartis’s Lucentis) was approved for the treatment of DME in 2012, and three pharmacotherapies with unique mechanisms of action and delivery profiles were approved in 2014, resulting in several treatment options. However, even with these new choices available, surveyed retinal specialists and managed care organization pharmacy directors (MCO PDs) indicate that opportunity remains for therapies that offer more-novel delivery profiles, reduced dosing frequency, and the ability to improve visual acuity to a greater extent than can be achieved with current agents.
