For the GATHER2 trial, published in The Lancet, Arshad Khanani, MD, MA, FASRS, and colleagues investigated the efficacy and safety of avacincaptad pegol 2 mg in treating GA. Over 12 months, avacincaptad pegol 2 mg demonstrated a significant reduction in GA lesion growth compared with sham treatment. The lesion growth rate was 0.336 mm/year with avacincaptad pegol 2 mg, compared with 0.392 mm/year with the sham treatment, indicating a 14% difference favoring avacincaptad pegol 2 mg. Safety analysis showed that avacincaptad pegol 2 mg was well-tolerated, with no severe adverse events like endophthalmitis, intraocular inflammation, or ischemic optic neuropathy reported during the 12 months. Although ocular treatment-emergent adverse events occurred, they were balanced between the avacincaptad pegol 2 mg and sham groups. The results suggest that “avacincaptad pegol might slow disease progression and potentially change the trajectory of disease for patients with geographic atrophy,” wrote Dr. Khanani and team.
