A real-world evaluation of frequency of ranibizumab and aflibercept deliveries for treatment-naïve patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration: 12-month results from the French LYVE survey

Purpose : The LYVE survey employed a unique design that used two databases in France to evaluate the frequency of ranibizumab (RBZ) and aflibercept (AFL) deliveries over the 12-month follow-up period for treatment-naïve patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) in routine medical practice. Methods : LYVE was an observational, prospective, longitudinal survey analyzing 12- month data from two databases that recorded delivered products and patients' information: a nationally representative pharmacy records database and a pharmacy-based questionnaire system. Treatment-naïve patients with nAMD who received their first RBZ/AFL prescription between October 2013 and July 2014 were enrolled (Figure 1). The primary objective was to evaluate the overall frequency of RBZ and AFL deliveries in a real-life setting in treatment-naïve patients with nAMD. Key secondary objectives were to evaluate the proportion of patients with a treatment switch (changed to a new treatment and maintained the same) or switchback (changed from new treatment to the original treatment). Results : Of the 2023 screened patients, 466 treatment-naïve patients (RBZ, n=314; AFL, n=152) were enrolled. Of the 400 patients with unilateral nAMD (RBZ, n=273; AFL, n=127), 220 treatment-naïve patients (RBZ, n=145; AFL, n=75) were analyzed during the 12-month follow-up. The baseline patient characteristics (age, gender) were well-balanced in both RBZ and AFL groups. The mean number of deliveries was 4.7, with no significant differences observed between the treatment groups (P=0.321; Figure 2). The mean time between RBZ and AFL deliveries was nonstatistically different during the 12-month follow-up (P=0.357). No significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of the proportion of patients who had a treatment switch (RBZ, n=31; AFL, n=8) or switch-back (RBZ, n=7; AFL, n=1). Conclusions : LYVE represents a unique national sample of real-life data of nAMD treatment patterns in France. No statistically significant differences were observed between the treatment-naïve patients in terms of the frequency of RBZ and AFL deliveries over the 12-month follow-up period.