(Reuters) -German drugmaker Bayer on Friday won an endorsement by the European Medicines Agency to extend the intervals between shots of its anti-blindness treatment Eylea, giving it a potential edge over Roche’s rival treatment Vabysmo.
Bayer said in a statement the European Medicines Agency recommended that eye drug Eylea, at a high dose of 8 mg, can be injected at intervals of up to six months to treat wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular oedema.
Bayer shares were up 2.5% at 0717 GMT, surpassing a gain of 0.7% in the Stoxx Europe 600 Health Care index.
Eylea, an injection against the leading causes of blindness among the elderly, is currently approved in the EU for treatment intervals of up to five months. Bayer has developed it jointly with Regeneron.
Vabysmo, a major driver of revenue growth for Switzerland’s Roche, is cleared to be given at intervals of up to four months.
The EU commission has the final say on drug approval but it typically follows the medicines agency’s opinions. Bayer said that decision is expected within the next few weeks.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Friederike Heine)
