Dr Paul Hahn: Retina Field Has Been Rife With Therapeutic Changes

Recent FDA approvals and therapies under FDA review are adding new treatments to the armamentarium, said Paul Hahn, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon at NJRetina.

Transcript

In the current ASRS Preferences and Trends survey, were there any novel therapies that respondents were excited about?

Just like technology, this field of retina has been rife with changes in therapies. Over the past year, there was the FDA approval of this sustained delivery surgical implant for wet AMD [age-related macular degeneration]. The response has been kind of mixed, with some being very excited and some being not so excited. Again, I think that the place for this device has yet to be determined, but in my opinion, has an important place in our treatment armamentarium.

Since the survey was actually released, there was the FDA approval of another novel therapeutic agent, a bispecific anti-VEGF [vascular endothelial growth factor] anti–Ang-2 inhibitor—the first of its kind. Retina specialists in the survey were most excited about its potential for extended durability, and certainly, in the next upcoming year’s survey, we'll poll the retina specialists to see what the temperature is and what their utilization is on this new drug.

Perhaps also very exciting, under current FDA review, is the first potential treatment for geographic atrophy and dry macular degeneration. At the time of the survey, results were somewhat mixed, with some retina specialists being enthusiastic about it and some being somewhat lukewarm. Since the survey, some more favorable results have been released, and it would be very interesting to see if that moves the needle. By the time of next year’s survey, we may likely have information as to whether or not this drug is FDA approved, and we'll certainly poll retina specialists to see what their thoughts are on this