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Comparative Safety and Tolerability of Anti-VEGF Therapy in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

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Abstract

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness. Over the last decade, the treatment of NVAMD has been revolutionized by the development of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapies. Several anti-VEGF medications are used for the treatment of NVAMD. The safety and tolerability of these medications deserve review given the high prevalence of NVAMD and the significant utilization of these medications. Numerous large randomized clinical trials have not shown any definitive differential safety relative to ocular or systemic safety of these medications. Intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy does appear to impact systemic VEGF levels, but the implications of these changes remain unclear. One unique safety concern relates drug compounding and the potential risks of contamination, specifically for bevacizumab. Continued surveillance for systemic safety concerns, particularly for rare events, is merited. Overall, these medications are well tolerated and effective in the treatment of NVAMD.

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Funding and conflicts of interest

This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Eye Institute Grant NIH/NEI K23-EY022947-01A1 (Justis P. Ehlers), Ohio Department of Development Grant TECH-13-059 (Justis P. Ehlers) and institutional Grant from Research to Prevent Blindness to Cole Eye Institute. The funders had no role in data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Yasha S. Modi and Carley Tanchon have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this review. Justis P. Ehlers has received fees and honoraria from Bioptigen, Thrombogenics, Synergetics, Genentech, Leica, Zeiss and Alcon; however, none of this was utilized for data collection and analysis or preparation of the manuscript.

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  1. Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, i32, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA

    Yasha S. Modi, Carley Tanchon & Justis P. Ehlers

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  1. Yasha S. Modi
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Modi, Y.S., Tanchon, C. & Ehlers, J.P. Comparative Safety and Tolerability of Anti-VEGF Therapy in Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Drug Saf 38, 279–293 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40264-015-0273-0

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