Treatment Outcomes of Ranibizumab versus Aflibercept for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Data from the Fight Retinal Blindness! Registry

Purpose: Ranibizumab and aflibercept are both approved for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Herein, we compare the 3-year treatment outcomes of the 2 in routine clinical practice.

Design: Retrospective analysis of data from a prospectively designed observational outcomes registry, the Fight Retinal Blindness!

Participants: Treatment-naïive eyes starting nAMD treatment from December 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015, with either ranibizumab or aflibercept that were tracked in the registry.

Methods: Visual acuity (VA) was analyzed annually in completers (those who completed 3 years of treatment) and in all eyes (completers, noncompleters, and those who switched treatment ).

Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was mean change in VA (number of letters read on a logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution chart).

Results: A total of 965 eyes of 897 patients (ranibizumab, 499 eyes [469 patients]; aflibercept, 466 eyes [432 patients) were identified. The mean VA and the type of the choroidal neovascularization (CNV) at the start of treatment were similar between the 2 groups. The group receiving ranibizumab was older. The crude mean VA change of +1.5 letters (95% confidence interval [CI], 0-3.1 letters) in the ranibizumab group and of +1.6 letters (95% CI, -0.2 to 3.3 letters; P = 0.97) in the aflibercept group at 3 years in all eyes was similar, as was the adjusted mean VA change, +0.3 letters (95% CI, -1.5 to 2.0 letters) versus +1.0 letters (95% CI, -0.7 to 2.8 letters; P = 0.66). Both treatment groups received a median of 18 injections from a median of 21 clinical visits. The adjusted proportion of clinical visits when the CNV was graded active over 3 years was similar between ranibizumab (43%) and aflibercept (51%; P = 0.9). More switches from ranibizumab to aflibercept (P < 0.001) took place than vice versa. The proportion of eyes that did not complete 3 years of treatment in each of the group was similar (P = 0.21). Conclusions: Neither ranibizumab nor aflibercept was superior to the other in terms of VA outcomes and treatment frequency at 3 years for nAMD.