Novartis’s Beovu (brolucizumab-dbll) was the fourth vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor to launch for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the United States in October 2019. Beovu offers the potential for dosing once every 12 weeks immediately after the first three monthly doses, giving the product a dosing advantage over Lucentis and Eylea in its product labeling. However, a safety alert on Beovu from the American Society of Retinal Specialists in February 2020 and a subsequent safety review by Novartis resulted in Beovu’s prescribing information being updated in June 2020 to include a warning of retinal vasculitis and/or retinal vascular occlusion with Beovu injections, a warning that is absent from the labels of Eylea and Lucentis. This report provides a snapshot of Beovu’s performance based on physician responses nine months after its launch, including a comparison with survey data at three months postlaunch, before the safety issues with Beovu had emerged.
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS
Geography: United States
Primary Research: Survey of 77 U.S. ophthalmologists / retinal specialists in July 2020
Key metrics included: Unaided and aided awareness of Beovu; familiarity with and impressions of Beovu; prescriber and nonprescriber profiles; willingness to prescribe Beovu; performance of Beovu on key attributes; sales representative visit frequency, reach, and effectiveness
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
DRG’s Special Topics reports assess key trends in dynamic disease areas. Here we provide a snapshot of Beovu’s performance at nine months postlaunch in the U.S. wet AMD market. Specifically, we assess U.S. physicians’ awareness, perceptions, and use of Beovu, as well as Beovu’s current and future impact on competitor therapies and the overall market. Insight is also provided on promotional efforts by Novartis, prescriber and nonprescriber profiles, and a comparison with survey data collected at three months postlaunch of Beovu.