BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Bayer is now permitted to market the high-dose version of its eye medication Eylea in the European Union for a third indication. The European Commission has approved the 8-milligram dose of the drug for the treatment of patients with macular edema resulting from retinal vein occlusion (RVO), the pharmaceutical and agrochemical group announced on Friday. Eylea is one of the key revenue drivers in the DAX-listed company's pharmaceutical division and, in the 8-milligram dose, is already available in the EU with treatment intervals of up to five months for neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) as well as diabetic macular edema (DME).
With longer treatment intervals—that is, more time between two treatments—such eye medications become more attractive to patients, since they must be injected directly into the eye. Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has a competing product on the market with Vabysmo./mis/stk
