Roche Pharma India has marked its foray into the ophthalmology space by launching Vabysmo (faricimab) for the treatment of neovascular or 'wet' age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME). Neovascular AMD and DME are two leading causes of vision loss worldwide.

Vabysmo is the first and only dual-pathway-inhibitor that uniquely targets and inhibits two disease pathways linked to a number of vision threatening retinal conditions. It neutralises both angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) which are key proteins involved in the development and progression of retinal conditions, contributing to vision loss by destabilising blood vessels in the eye. 

As the world’s first bispecific monoclonal antibody (mAb), Vabysmo is a single molecule designed to target and inhibit the effects of two targets, providing the benefits of two medicines in one. Current treatment options target VEGF alone, and therefore only partially address the biology of the disease. By blocking both pathways involving Ang-2 and VEGF-A, Vabysmo offers people the first new MoA (mechanism of action) in more than 15 years for nAMD and close to a decade for DME, stabilising blood vessels in the retina and improving vision outcomes. 

Vabysmo has the potential to transform the existing Standard of Care (SoC) as the burden associated with currently available treatment options for nAMD and DME such as frequent eye injections (typically required every one to two months) and physician visits can lead to under treatment and less-than-optimal vision outcomes.

Vabysmo (faricimab) was first approved by the USFDA in January 2022. It is today available in across 90+ countries and more than 2 million doses have been administered till date.