Proxima A study

An ongoing observational, prospective study of geographic atrophy (GA) patients should help to fill some important gaps in current understanding of the natural history of this advanced form of age-related macular degeneration, according to Jordi Mones MD, PhD, who presented his data at the 17th EURETINA Congress in Barcelona. “Previous natural history studies have provided valuable insight into GA but significant gaps remain with very limited long-term progression data and a real need for correlation of anatomic features with visual function outcomes,” he said. The Proxima A study, which is part of the lampalizumab study programme, seeks to address this shortfall by gathering data on almost 300 GA patients at up to 87 sites globally for duration of 48 months. Dr Mones said that the baseline visual function data demonstrated the presence of significant functional deficits highlighting the severity of geographic atrophy and its impact on patients’ quality of life. The mean baseline GA lesion size was 8.07 mm² which is comparable with other observational studies. The baseline mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 66.6 ETDRS letter and eyes with subfoveal involvement had lower BCVA by one line of vision. Dr Mones said that future analyses of Proxima A are planned to continue to advance the understanding of the natural history of geographic atrophy. Moreover, important year one data from the phase 3 lampalizumab clinical programme are expected before the end of 2017.