1. Long-Term Safety Evaluation of Continuous Intraocular Delivery of Aflibercept by the Intravitreal Gene Therapy Candidate ADVM-022 in Nonhuman Primates
- Author
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Mehdi Gasmi, Ruslan Grishanin, Pallavi Sharma, Julio Nieves, Szilard Kiss, Kelly Hanna, Aivan Nguyen, Kristina Oresic Bender, Romeo J. Rosario, Claire M. Gelfman, and Judith Greengard
- Subjects
Primates ,Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ,0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Recombinant Fusion Proteins ,Genetic enhancement ,Biomedical Engineering ,Angiogenesis Inhibitors ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,0302 clinical medicine ,Ophthalmology ,Animals ,Medicine ,Adverse effect ,Aflibercept ,Retina ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,aflibercept ,Retinal ,Genetic Therapy ,Vascular endothelial growth factor ,Vascular endothelial growth factor A ,Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor ,030104 developmental biology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,OCT ,chemistry ,anti-VEGF ,ERG ,030221 ophthalmology & optometry ,adeno-associated viral vector ,business ,medicine.drug ,Electroretinography - Abstract
Purpose To evaluate the long-term safety of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) suppression with sustained aflibercept expression after a single intravitreal injection (IVI) of ADVM-022, an anti-VEGF gene therapy, in non-human primates (NHPs). Methods Non-human primates received bilateral IVI of ADVM-022, a gene therapy vector encoding aflibercept, a standard of care for the treatment of VEGF-based retinal disease. Aflibercept levels from ocular fluids and tissues were measured. Ocular inflammation was assessed by slit lamp biomicroscopy and fundoscopy. The integrity of the retinal structure was analyzed by optical coherence tomography and blue light fundus autofluorescence and electroretinography was performed to determine retinal function. Histologic evaluation of the retina was performed at the longest time point measured (2.5 years after injection). Results Sustained expression of aflibercept was noted out to the last time point evaluated. Mild to moderate inflammatory responses were observed, which trended toward spontaneous resolution without anti-inflammatory treatment. No abnormalities in retinal structure or function were observed, as measured by optical coherence tomography and electroretinography, respectively. RPE integrity was maintained throughout the study; no histologic abnormalities were observed 2.5 years after ADVM-022 IVI. Conclusions In non-human primates, long-term, sustained aflibercept expression and the resulting continuous VEGF suppression by a single IVI of ADVM-022, appears to be safe, with no measurable adverse effects on normal retinal structure and function evaluated out to 2.5 years. Translational relevance Together with the results from previous ADVM-022 preclinical studies, these data support the evaluation of this gene therapy candidate in clinical trials as a potential durable treatment for various VEGF-mediated ophthalmic disorders.
- Published
- 2021
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