Regeneron aims to extend Eylea franchise as high-dose aflibercept hits in Phase III
Commercial success will depend on physician willingness to switch to high-dose aflibercept in increasingly competitive market
Regeneron is hoping to stave off coming biosimilar competition for blockbuster eye therapy Eylea with a high-dose formulation of aflibercept that showed non-inferior efficacy at dosing intervals of up to 16 weeks. But whether doctors are willing to switch patients to a regimen that extends the dosing interval by 1-2 months will determine how large the revenue tail is for the aflibercept franchise.
Investors added $12 billion to the market cap of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) on Thursday after the large cap reported positive data from the Phase III PHOTON and PULSAR trials that showed aflibercept 8 mg given at either 12- or 16-week intervals was non-inferior on the primary endpoint of mean observed best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improvement vs. the marketed 2 mg dose of Eylea aflibercept administered as an 8-week regimen. ...