Change of injection medicine

[surj]

My name is Surj and I have been having injection in one of my wet eyes for the last 10 years.

I started with Lucentis medicine than changed to Eyelea and changed again to Ongavia, I have now been asked to change to Vybismo medicine.

My question is are there more side effects with Vybismo and what are your opinion about this medicine.

I will very much appreciate your response.

Many thanks

[Carol_MacularSociety Partner]

Dear surj,

Vabysmo (Faricimab) has been judged by NICE to be as effective as the current anti-VEGF drugs Eylea and Lucentis in treating wet AMD. Faricimab is the first approved treatment for wet AMD and DMO that targets 2 specific separate chemical pathways in the eye that cause blood vessel leakage and growth which threaten patient's central vision. Key clinical studies have shown that Faricimab is very effective at preventing visual loss whilst reducing the burden of treatment for individual patients.

The key pivotal studies on the use of Faricimab were published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet and have shown the potential for reducing the need for regular monthly or every 2 monthly intravitreal injections. For AMD, by the end of the first year of treatment, 80% of patients receiving the new drug maintained their best corrected visual acuity at 12-week or longer intervals and 45% maintained it at 16-week intervals.

Please refer to the links below

macularsociety.org/about/me...

ophthalmologytimes.com/view...

This webinar may be of interest

macularsociety.org/support/...

Best wishes,

Carol

Macular Society Helpline

[surj in reply to Carol_MacularSociety]

Dear Carol,

Thank you for your detailed reply, much appreciated.

I will read the information on the links you have provided.

Thanks again.

Surj.

[Knitcat in reply to Carol_MacularSociety]

Thank you, Carol.

Your response was really helpful. I’ve just started treatment with Faricimab & was gutted to be told I had to have 4 loading doses after I expected 3. So, it’s good to know that future injections might be reduced 🤞

[Catseyes235 in reply to Carol_MacularSociety]

That’s very interesting. I’m on 10 week intervals on Eylea so don’t expect to change anytime soon but how does Faricimab compare price wise?

( I have thyroid problems and NICE made accessing T3 difficult to access, (and many sufferers miserable) due to costs when the companies making it increased cost 600%! )

[Carol_MacularSociety Partner in reply to Catseyes235]

Dear Catseyes235,

NHS drug costs are generally confidential but both drugs are now used extensively in clinics around the country. Eylea 8mg should be able in clinics soon which also offers longer spacing of up to 12 - 16 weeks between treatments.

For more information refer to the link below

macularsociety.org/about/me...

Best wishes,

Carol

Macular Society Helpline

[princess1931 in reply to Carol_MacularSociety]

I do not know much about the effectiveness of one medication as opposed to another but I do thnk this lady is incredibly lucky to still be receiving treatment preserving her sight for the last 10 years. I was gi.ven in jections for about a year then they were stopped. I found out that was because of cost and I would eventually lose my sight. SInce then my eyesight has become progressively worse. I accept the fact that the injections could not improve the sight only preserve it and prevent it from getting worse. I wish I could be un der the careof her consultant. I repeat an extremelylucky lady.

[tallyho]

Hi there so I was in the NICE committee for this one which bought it to the NHS. As Carol has said it’s a different type of anti vegf as it jas 2 elements to it and is this a bi specific. It’s had good results so far. I think Mac Soc did a webiner on it am I right Carol? My interview on radio 4 about it is posted in a recent post on here. Try it. It did. It work for me but I have DMO not AMD.

[Carol_MacularSociety Partner in reply to tallyho]

Hi tallyho, yes the Macular Society has a webinar on Vabysmo/Faricimab. I posted a link to it above. I will add it here again

macularsociety.org/support/...

Best wishes

Carol

Macular Society helpline

[springcross]

Hi surj. I've been having Vabysmo injections since December 2022 after having 46 Eylea injections from 2018 up until then. I've had 12 Vabysmo now and I honestly feel that it has been far better for my eye than Eylea. Initially, I did have a bit of red eye for a couple of months, which I think is one of the side effects, but it eventually eased and I've been fine ever since. Hope all goes well with yours.

[surj in reply to springcross]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply to my query. It has now given me encouragement to go forward with Vabysmo injection.

Surj,

[springcross in reply to surj]

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

[ANO_Health]

I have had 14 injections of Eylea for Diabetic Retinopathy, but was not making much progress, with injections every 4 weeks. I was changed to Vabysmo and have had 2 injections. I am not aware of any side effects, and at last my eye is not leaking as much. I went 7 weeks between injections, then 9 weeks. My sight seems better than it has for months, so my doctor and I am hopeful we can stretch distance between injections significantly. I am glad I agreed to my doctor's recommended change. All the best for your treatment.