New Insight: Reengaging the Retina Community in 2024 with David Eichenbaum, MD and Roger Goldberg, MD

Now halfway through the first quarter of 2024, the field of ophthalmology has restarted its conference season, with a steady stream of updates on research pipelines making headlines on a weekly basis.

A special double-episode of New Insight with Veeral Sheth, MD features a well-rounded conversation with Sheth and returning guest David Eichenbaum, MD, the director of research for Retina Vitreous Associates of Florida, as well as first-time guest Roger Goldberg, MD, a vitreoretinal surgeon at Bay Area Retina Associates.

Coming off the heels of the recent Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration 2024 meeting hosted by the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami, these retina specialists and old friends discuss a wide array of hot topics in the retina specialty and across the field of ophthalmology.

These topics of conversation ranged from recent conference discussions, an upcoming anniversary of a landmark agent, head-to-head comparisons of the current therapeutic landscape, and what is to come this year, including the relaunch of a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved refillable ocular implant.

Among the next few weeks in February is the first anniversary of the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of Apellis Pharmaceutical’s pegcetacoplan injection (SYFVORE) for geographic atrophy (GA). The first agent approved for GA, pegcetacoplan injection was a landmark moment for the retina community but experienced a rollercoaster first year owing to associated reports of retinal vasculitis.

The trio of experts discuss how things have changed with a better understanding of those safety reports and how they are re-engaging the conversation on treatment efficacy with patients and physicians. Engaging further with that pipeline discussion, the retina specialists compared two recently approved agents for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), including faricimab-svoa (Vabysmo) from Genentech and aflibercept 8 mg (EYLEA HD) from Regeneron.

They discussed the clinical trial background, how these agents fare against older therapies, and how the market and insurance payers will shift toward these highly effective agents. With this just the beginning of the meeting season, the experts looked forward to the year ahead, discussing the potential utility of intravitreal gene therapies. Experts also talked over the pending relaunch of the Port Delivery System (PDS) with ranibizumab (Susvimo) after Genentech recalled the ocular implant and insertion tool in October 2022.

Every episode of New Insight is available on HCPLive.com. Watch full episodes on our Youtube channel and listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or the player below.

Direct any podcast-related inquiries to show producer Connor Iapoce and keep an eye out for more from New Insight!