Main pharmacology-related risk is increased susceptibility to infections (C5 inhibition); no complement activation by the aptamer in monkeys; panuveitis with Lucentis combination
“Therefore, it seems that the main adverse reaction due to an exaggerated pharmacological effect of complement inhibition is an increased susceptibility to infections.”
✓ VerifiedFDA pharmacology/toxicology review, p. 36Source ↗
Biodistribution & persistence
Ocular tissue distribution in rabbit after single IVT 3 mg/eye; low systemic exposure (rabbit 51 ng/mL, dog 489 ng/mL); no accumulation in rabbit
“An ocular tissue distribution study was conducted in male Dutch-Belted rabbits following a single IVT injection of avacincaptad pegol (3 mg/eye) to both eyes”
✓ VerifiedFDA pharmacology/toxicology review, p. 37Source ↗
Modality-specific risk
Retinal/optic tract vacuolation from PEGylated aptamer uptake; transient APTT/PT prolongation (oligonucleotide class); macrophage vacuolation after high IV dosing
“The presence of the vacuoles most likely reflects uptake of the PEGylated aptamer within the retinal cells”
✓ VerifiedFDA pharmacology/toxicology review, p. 7Source ↗