Eylea
- Generic Name: aflibercept
- Brand Name: Eylea
Eylea (Aflibercept) side effects drug center
Eylea Side Effects Center
What Is Eylea?
Eylea (aflibercept) is a recombinate protein indicated for the treatment of patients with Neovascular (Wet) Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). AMD is a common cause of blindness.
What Are Side Effects of Eylea?
Common side effects of Eylea include:
- burst blood vessel in the eye,
- eye pain or discomfort after the injection,
- cataracts,
- watery eyes,
- blurred vision,
- swelling of the eyelids,
- vitreous detachment,
- eye "floaters,"
- increased pressure within the eye, and
- feeling as if something is in the eye.
Tell your doctor if you have serious side effects of Eylea including:
- eye pain or redness, swelling around your eyes;
- sudden vision problems;
- seeing flashes of light or "floaters" in your vision;
- eyes being more sensitive to light;
- sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; or
- sudden severe headache, confusion, problems with speech or balance.
Dosage for Eylea?
Eylea is supplied as a preservative-free, sterile, aqueous solution in a single-use, glass vial designed to deliver 0.05 mL (50 microliters) of Eylea in the strength of 40 mg/ml. Eylea is injected into the eye either every four weeks or every eight weeks by an ophthalmologist. The recommended dose for Eylea is 2 mg (0.05 mL or 50 microliters) administered by intravitreal injection every 4 weeks(monthly) for the first 12 weeks (3 months), followed by 2 mg(0.05 mL) via intravitreal injection once every 8 weeks (2 months). Eylea should not be used in those who have an active eye infection or active ocular inflammation.
What Drugs, Substances, or Supplements Interact with Eylea?
Eylea may interact with other drugs. Tell your doctor all medications and supplements you use.
Eylea During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Eylea has not been studied in pregnant women, so the treatment should be used only in pregnant women if the potential benefits of the treatment outweigh any potential risks. Age related macular degeneration does not occur in children and Eylea has not been studied in children.
Additional Information
Our Eylea (aflibercept) Side Effects Drug Center provides a comprehensive view of available drug information on the potential side effects when taking this medication.
Eylea Consumer Information
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your eyes, face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Call your doctor at once if you have:
- eye pain or redness, swelling around your eyes;
- sudden vision problems;
- seeing flashes of light or "floaters" in your vision, seeing halos around lights;
- increased sensitivity of your eyes to light;
- chest pain;
- sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; or
- sudden severe headache, confusion, problems with speech or balance.
Common side effects may include:
- red or watery eyes;
- blurred vision;
- swelling of the eyelids; or
- mild eye pain or discomfort after the injection.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Read the entire detailed patient monograph for Eylea (Aflibercept)
Eylea Professional Information
SIDE EFFECTS
The following potentially serious adverse reactions are described elsewhere in the labeling:
- Hypersensitivity [see CONTRAINDICATIONS]
- Endophthalmitis and retinal detachments [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
- Increase in intraocular pressure [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
- Thromboembolic events [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Clinical Trials Experience
Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in other clinical trials of the same or another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.
A total of 2980 patients treated with EYLEA constituted the safety population in eight phase 3 studies. Among those, 2379 patients were treated with the recommended dose of 2 mg. Serious adverse reactions related to the injection procedure have occurred in <0.1% of intravitreal injections with EYLEA including endophthalmitis and retinal detachment. The most common adverse reactions (≥5%) reported in patients receiving EYLEA were conjunctival hemorrhage, eye pain, cataract, vitreous detachment, vitreous floaters, and intraocular pressure increased.
Neovascular (Wet) Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
The data described below reflect exposure to EYLEA in 1824 patients with wet AMD, including 1223 patients treated with the 2-mg dose, in 2 double-masked, controlled clinical studies (VIEW1 and VIEW2) for 24 months (with active control in year 1) [see Clinical Studies].
Safety data observed in the EYLEA group in a 52-week, double-masked, Phase 2 study were consistent with these results.
Table 1: Most Common Adverse Reactions (≥1%) in
Wet AMD Studies
| Adverse Reactions | Baseline to Week 52 | Baseline to Week 96 | ||
| EYLEA (N=1824) |
Active Control (ranibizumab) (N=595) |
EYLEA (N=1824) |
Control (ranibizumab) (N=595) |
|
| Conjunctival hemorrhage | 25% | 28% | 27% | 30% |
| Eye pain | 9% | 9% | 10% | 10% |
| Cataract | 7% | 7% | 13% | 10% |
| Vitreous detachment | 6% | 6% | 8% | 8% |
| Vitreous floaters | 6% | 7% | 8% | 10% |
| Intraocular pressure increased | 5% | 7% | 7% | 11% |
| Ocular hyperemia | 4% | 8% | 5% | 10% |
| Corneal epithelium defect | 4% | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| Detachment of the retinal pigment epithelium | 3% | 3% | 5% | 5% |
| Injection site pain | 3% | 3% | 3% | 4% |
| Foreign body sensation in eyes | 3% | 4% | 4% | 4% |
| Lacrimation increased | 3% | 1% | 4% | 2% |
| Vision blurred | 2% | 2% | 4% | 3% |
| Intraocular inflammation | 2% | 3% | 3% | 4% |
| Retinal pigment epithelium tear | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Injection site hemorrhage | 1% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Eyelid edema | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% |
| Corneal edema | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Retinal detachment | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% |
Less common serious adverse reactions reported in <1% of the patients treated with EYLEA were hypersensitivity, retinal tear, and endophthalmitis.
Macular Edema Following Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO)
The data described below reflect 6 months exposure to EYLEA with a monthly 2 mg dose in 218 patients following central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in 2 clinical studies (COPERNICUS and GALILEO) and 91 patients following branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) in one clinical study (VIBRANT) [see Clinical Studies].
Table 2: Most Common Adverse Reactions (≥1%) in
RVO Studies
| Adverse Reactions | CRVO | BRVO | ||
| EYLEA (N=218) |
Control (N=142) |
EYLEA (N=91) |
Control (N=92) |
|
| Eye pain | 13% | 5% | 4% | 5% |
| Conjunctival hemorrhage | 12% | 11% | 20% | 4% |
| Intraocular pressure increased | 8% | 6% | 2% | 0% |
| Corneal epithelium defect | 5% | 4% | 2% | 0% |
| Vitreous floaters | 5% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| Ocular hyperemia | 5% | 3% | 2% | 2% |
| Foreign body sensation in eyes | 3% | 5% | 3% | 0% |
| Vitreous detachment | 3% | 4% | 2% | 0% |
| Lacrimation increased | 3% | 4% | 3% | 0% |
| Injection site pain | 3% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| Vision blurred | 1% | <1% | 1% | 1% |
| Intraocular inflammation | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
| Cataract | <1% | 1% | 5% | 0% |
| Eyelid edema | <1% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
Less common adverse reactions reported in <1% of the patients treated with EYLEA in the CRVO studies were corneal edema, retinal tear, hypersensitivity, and endophthalmitis.
Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) And Diabetic Retinopathy (DR)
The data described below reflect exposure to EYLEA in 578 patients with DME treated with the 2-mg dose in 2 double-masked, controlled clinical studies (VIVID and VISTA) from baseline to week 52 and from baseline to week 100 [see Clinical Studies].
Table 3: Most Common Adverse Reactions (≥1%) in
DME Studies
| Adverse Reactions | Baseline to Week 52 | Baseline to Week 100 | ||
| EYLEA (N=578) |
Control (N=287) |
EYLEA (N=578) |
Control (N=287) |
|
| Conjunctival hemorrhage | 28% | 17% | 31% | 21% |
| Eye pain | 9% | 6% | 11% | 9% |
| Cataract | 8% | 9% | 19% | 17% |
| Vitreous floaters | 6% | 3% | 8% | 6% |
| Corneal epithelium defect | 5% | 3% | 7% | 5% |
| Intraocular pressure increased | 5% | 3% | 9% | 5% |
| Ocular hyperemia | 5% | 6% | 5% | 6% |
| Vitreous detachment | 3% | 3% | 8% | 6% |
| Foreign body sensation in eyes | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Lacrimation increased | 3% | 2% | 4% | 2% |
| Vision blurred | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% |
| Intraocular inflammation | 2% | <1% | 3% | 1% |
| Injection site pain | 2% | <1% | 2% | <1% |
| Eyelid edema | <1% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
Less common adverse reactions reported in <1% of the patients treated with EYLEA were hypersensitivity, retinal detachment, retinal tear, corneal edema, and injection site hemorrhage.
Safety data observed in 269 patients with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) through week 52 in the PANORAMA trial were consistent with those seen in the phase 3 VIVID and VISTA trials (see Table 3 above).
Immunogenicity
As with all therapeutic proteins, there is a potential for an immune response in patients treated with EYLEA. The immunogenicity of EYLEA was evaluated in serum samples. The immunogenicity data reflect the percentage of patients whose test results were considered positive for antibodies to EYLEA in immunoassays. The detection of an immune response is highly dependent on the sensitivity and specificity of the assays used, sample handling, timing of sample collection, concomitant medications, and underlying disease. For these reasons, comparison of the incidence of antibodies to EYLEA with the incidence of antibodies to other products may be misleading.
In the wet AMD, RVO, and DME studies, the pre-treatment incidence of immunoreactivity to EYLEA was approximately 1% to 3% across treatment groups. After dosing with EYLEA for 24-100 weeks, antibodies to EYLEA were detected in a similar percentage range of patients. There were no differences in efficacy or safety between patients with or without immunoreactivity.
Read the entire FDA prescribing information for Eylea (Aflibercept)
&Copy; Eylea Patient Information is supplied by Cerner Multum, Inc. and Eylea Consumer information is supplied by First Databank, Inc., used under license and subject to their respective copyrights.