Syfovre (pegcetacoplan) is now available via private prescription and can be ordered through Australian pharmaceutical distributor CH2.
In January 2025, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved Syfovre for the every-other-month treatment of adult patients with geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with an intact fovea and when central vision is threatened by GA lesion growth. Syfovre is the first and only approved treatment for GA in Australia.
The approval was based on results from the Phase 3 OAKS and DERBY studies at 24 months. In the studies, treatment with both every-other-month and monthly Syfovre slowed GA progression and showed a generally well-tolerated safety profile. The results were published in The Lancet in October 2023.1
More than 75,000 Australians are living with GA, an advanced form of AMD and a leading cause of blindness worldwide.2 It is a progressive and irreversible disease caused by the growth of lesions, which destroy the retinal cells responsible for vision. The vision loss caused by GA severely impairs independence and quality of life.
Syfovre (pegcetacoplan) is now available via private prescription
References
- Heier JS, Lad EM, Wykoff CC, et al. OAKS and DERBY study investigators. Pegcetacoplan for the treatment of geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration (OAKS and DERBY): two multicentre, randomised, double-masked, sham-controlled, phase 3 trials. Lancet. 2023 Oct 21;402(10411):1434-1448. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01520-9.
- Keel S, Xie J, Foreman J, van Wijngaarden P, Taylor HR, Dirani M. Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in Australia: The Australian National Eye Health Survey. JAMA Ophthalmol. Nov 1 2017;135(11):1242-1249. doi: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2017.4182.
