Behind the Science: Behind Faricimab

On January 28, the FDA approved faricimab (Vabysmo) for the treatment of adults with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) or diabetic macular edema (DME). The new approval for the intravitreal-injected bispecific antibody therapy is the first granted to a drug with its targeting pathways, deviating from the popular standard-of-care anti-VEGF therapy drug class for these two conditions—the leading causes of irreversible vision loss in the US. It also comes at a time when many ophthalmologists are seeking means to improve treatment durability and extended time between regimens of intravitreal injection therapy for their patients, who are generally burdened by the administration process and are prone to high risk of treatment discontinuation—and, as such, eventual blindness.