Researchers in the YOSEMITE and RHINE trials presented biomarker results in an abstract at Euretina 2024 in September.

Their analysis sought to determine whether “dual angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2)/vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) inhibition with faricimab could reduce the proportion of patients with DME with hard exudates (HE) vs VEGF inhibition with aflibercept.” The trials evaluated 1,870 patients who received either faricimab or aflibercept over 96 weeks, with HE as a key marker of disease severity.

At baseline, 80.8–81.6% of patients in all groups had HE. By Week 52, fewer patients treated with faricimab had HE compared to those on aflibercept (Q8W: 79.0%, T&E: 75.8%, Aflibercept: 86.2%). This trend continued at Week 96 (Q8W: 52.8%, T&E: 55.9%, Aflibercept: 64.5%). The difference in HE reduction was statistically significant at both 52 weeks (P < 0.01) and 96 weeks (P < 0.01) in favor of faricimab, reflecting improved vascular stability with dual Ang-2/VEGF-A inhibition.

These findings support previous biomarker analyses that reported similar enhanced vascular stability as a result of faricimab’s dual inhibition mechanism.

The presented abstract from Euretina 2024 and a full list of author disclosures can be found here.