New Diabetic Macular Edema Treatment Reduces Monthly Visits to Twice a Year
The FDA has approved Susvimo, which delivers medicine continuously via a surgical implant that can be refilled every six months vs. getting monthly injections.
For those with diabetic macular edema (DME), a new treatment could lead to fewer doctor visits to help preserve vision. Currently, the first-line treatment for DME is monthly eye injections that require regular trips to the ophthalmologist.
Now there is an alternative to eye injections with Genentech's Susvimo (ranibizumab), which continuously delivers medicine through a surgical implant. The implant contains a reservoir that needs to be refilled every six months. Ranibizumab can also be obtained as a monthly injection, but this new FDA-approved implant option can reduce doctor’s visits (and the number of injections) from monthly to only twice a year.
Delivering Susvimo via implant was shown to be as effective as monthly injections, according to a 2024 study. The study showed that after 60 weeks, those who received the Susvimo implant gained about two lines on an eye chart, as did those who had monthly injections. One potential downside to the implant is an increased risk of infection compared to monthly injections.
DME results from damaged blood vessels as a result of high glucose levels over time. This damage causes blood vessels to leak fluid, which leads to swelling (edema) in a part of the retina called the macula. Left untreated, macular edema can cause vision loss or blindness. An estimated 5.5% of people with diabetes have DME.
Ranibizumab is an anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) inhibitor, a class of medication that blocks the growth of abnormal new blood vessels and helps reduce leaking from existing ones. Anti-VEGF treatment can help improve vision damaged by DME and is an alternative to laser treatment.
Other forms of DME treatment include laser treatment, steroid implants or injections, and NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) eye drops though anti-VEGF injections are typically used as a first-line treatment.
This new form of ranibizumab requires minor surgery to implant the device under the upper eyelid. The implant contains a reservoir of medicine, which requires refilling every six months.
The cost of the first year of treatment is $16,950, including the implant, and $16,000 for the second year, which includes two refills.
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