- Design
- Retrospective single-centre interventional case series
- Population
- 77 eyes of 58 patients with geographic atrophy treated for 2 years
- Primary outcome
- Geographic atrophy growth rate and visual acuity
- Effect
- Growth 0.33 → 0.19 mm/year (41% slower, p<0.001); acuity 63 → 55 letters
A US centre followed 77 eyes of 58 patients with symptomatic geographic atrophy who continued intravitreal pegcetacoplan 15 mg for two years, receiving an average of 18 injections about every 1.3 months, with swept-source OCT angiography throughout.
In 49 eyes that had yearly imaging before treatment, the square-root growth rate of atrophy fell from 0.33 to 0.19 mm per year, about a 41% reduction against each eye's own earlier rate. Almost every eye grew at the same or a slower rate in the second year than the first. Eyes that had been growing fastest before treatment showed the most slowing. Mean visual acuity nevertheless declined from 63 to 55 letters.
This is a single-centre retrospective series without a control group, and comparing an eye with its own past assumes growth would otherwise have stayed constant. It is consistent with the randomised trials in showing slower anatomical growth without preserved vision over two years. Its regulatory status and cost in India are not addressed by this study and should be checked before discussing it with patients. It was published in September 2026.
- Tell patients that pegcetacoplan slows the growth of atrophy but did not stop vision from declining over two years here.
- Injections in this series were given about every 1.3 months; check the approved label for dosing intervals.
- Eyes with faster prior growth appeared to benefit most; baseline growth rate may help select patients.
- Watch for new exudative neovascularisation during treatment, which may need anti-VEGF therapy.
- Discuss the injection burden against the expected benefit before starting.
Why it matters
Patients often hope a monthly injection will save their sight; the anatomical benefit and the visual course differ.
Don't overread it
Without a control group, the slowing is measured against each eye's own past, not against untreated eyes.
The statistics, in plain English
The square-root transformation makes growth rates comparable between small and large lesions. A 41% reduction compares rates before and after treatment in the same eyes, which removes differences between people but assumes growth would have continued unchanged without treatment.
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