Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for standard review the Company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for EYLEA® (aflibercept) Injection for the treatment of Macular Edema following Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion (BRVO). Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), the goal for a standard review of an sBLA is ten months from submission, for a target action date of October 23, 2014.
"We are pleased that the FDA has accepted the sBLA for EYLEA for the treatment of macular edema following BRVO, an important cause of vision loss," said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph. D., Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron and President of Regeneron Laboratories. "This is the fourth regulatory submission in the U.S. for EYLEA and, if approved, we hope it will provide a new treatment option for patients with macular edema following BRVO."
The EYLEA sBLA submission in this indication is based on the positive results from the Phase 3 VIBRANT trial, which was a double-masked, randomized, active-controlled study of 183 patients with Macular Edema following Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion. Patients received either intravitreal EYLEA 2 milligrams (mg) every four weeks or laser treatment for 24 weeks. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of EYLEA in improving best-corrected visual acuity compared to laser treatment at week 24. The study is ongoing through week 52.
EYLEA was approved in the United States for the treatment of neovascular (wet) Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) in November 2011 and for Macular Edema following Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO) in September 2012. EYLEA has also been approved in the European Union (EU) and other countries for use in wet AMD and Macular Edema following CRVO. Regulatory submissions have also been made in the U.S. and the EU for EYLEA for the treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema.
Bayer HealthCare and Regeneron are collaborating on the global development of EYLEA. Regeneron maintains exclusive rights to EYLEA in the United States. Bayer HealthCare licensed the exclusive marketing rights outside the United States, where the companies share equally the profits from sales of EYLEA, except for Japan where Regeneron receives a percentage of net sales.
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