Merck's drug for diabetes-related eye disease shows promise in trial

Sept 24 — Merck said on Thursday its injectable drug to treat a serious ​eye disease affecting diabetes patients met the main goal in a mid- to late-stage trial.

In the 52-week study ‌with adult diabetic macular edema patients, Merck's remigromig was non-inferior to standard treatment ranibizumab ⁠for mean change from baseline ​in best-corrected visual acuity, a ⁠measure of the sharpest vision achievable with corrective lenses.

Merck said ‌remigromig was well ‌tolerated, although the rate of discontinuation due to adverse ⁠events was higher than that with ⁠ranibizumab. The company said it is analyzing the findings.

Diabetic macular edema causes swelling and fluid buildup in the macula, the central part of the retina at the back of the eye, and can lead to blindness.

Roughly 5.5% of all ‌people with diabetes worldwide are affected ​by DME, according to National Institutes of Health data.

Common treatments include anti-VEGF eye injections like ranibizumab, which block or regulate the formation and growth of blood vessels, laser therapy and steroid injections or implants.

Merck's drug is designed to repair the retina's leaky blood-vessel barrier, helping reduce swelling that blurs vision ​in patients with the condition.

"This is the first and only new ‌mechanism of action ‌in ⁠20 years that has achieved Phase 3 results non-inferior to anti-VEGF therapy ‒ representing an important milestone for patients in developing a potential new treatment," said David Guyer, CEO of EyeBio, a wholly ‌owned subsidiary of Merck.

Merck ​will present the results at the ‌annual meeting of ⁠the American Academy ​of Ophthalmology next month.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Sahal Muhammed)

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