Pfizer and Eyetech’s Macugen to be sold in Brazil

Macugen will be first therapy in Brazil indicated for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) regardless of lesion subtype or size. The drug, which was approved in the US in December 2004 and in Canada in May 2005, is the product of a collaboration between Eyetech and Pfizer. Eyetech has granted Pfizer exclusive rights to commercialize Macugen in countries outside the US, including Brazil, pursuant to a royalty-bearing licensing agreement.

This news could not have come at a better time for Eyetech, which witnessed its share price nosedive before the announcement of the Brazilian opening. The massive drop was the result of positive data on a rival eye treatment produced by Genentech. Share prices in Eyetech have now risen by a much-needed 11%.

Macugen is the first in a new class of ophthalmic drugs to specifically target vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a protein that acts as a signal in triggering the abnormal blood vessel growth and leakage that is the hallmark of neovascular AMD.

Macugen specifically binds to VEGF 165, a protein that plays a critical role in angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) and increased permeability, two of the primary pathological processes thought to be responsible for the vision loss associated with neovascular AMD.

In Brazil, nearly seven million people live with some form of AMD and more than 135,000 new cases are reported each year, with the incidence likely to increase significantly with a growing aging population.