Apellis Announces Late-Breaking Presentation of Largest Retrospective Database Study in Geographic Atrophy (GA) at AAO 2020 Virtual - Seite 2

Key findings from the real-world clinical data show: 

• Progression from GA to new onset wet AMD was observed in 4.7% of patients with bilateral GA (GA in both eyes) and 13.3% of patients with wet AMD in the contralateral eye during the first 12 months. The rate at 24 months was 8.2% and 21.6% in bilateral GA and wet AMD in the contralateral eye, respectively.
  
  
• At the first study visit, patients presented with relatively preserved vision, especially in eyes with extrafoveal GA lesions (lesions outside the fovea, which is the central portion of the retina). However, patients with extrafoveal and foveal GA lesions progressively lost vision over time at a rate of approximately five letters per year. 
  
  
• A large proportion of GA patients did not return for a follow-up visit after two years. Of the GA patients potentially eligible for inclusion in the analysis, only 40% had a follow-up visit after two years and were ultimately included in the study.
  

“As we work to develop the first potential medicine for people with GA, we are committed to improving understanding of the disease. Our collaboration with Verana Health and the AAO IRIS Registry shows that wet AMD is not a rare occurrence in GA patients, and there is an opportunity to preserve vision if new treatments become available,” said Federico Grossi, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer of Apellis. “These results highlight the significant unmet need in GA, and we are working urgently to advance pegcetacoplan, a targeted C3 therapy, in two ongoing Phase 3 GA studies.” 

About the IRIS Registry
The American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS (Intelligent Research in Sight) Registry is the nation's first electronic health record-based comprehensive eye disease and condition registry. As of September 2020, the registry features over 59.99 million unique patients and includes 16,030 clinicians. It is a centralized data repository and reporting tool that can analyze patient data to produce easy-to-interpret national and inter-practice benchmark reports and provide scientific information to improve public health. The reports can validate the quality of care ophthalmologists provide and pinpoint opportunities for improvement.