Pfizer gets approval for Macugen

Pfizer has received European approval for Macugen.

The treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (neovascular AMD), an age-related eye disease that destroys central vision, was developed with the US firm OSI Pharmaceuticals.

Macugen (pegaptanib sodium injection) received marketing authorisation from the European Commission making it the first neovascular AMD treatment to be cleared.

Dr David Guyer, executive vice president of OSI Pharmaceuticals, said: “More than 50,000 patients have been treated with Macugen in the United States, and we are pleased that our partner Pfizer will make this important medicine available to patients in Europe.

“In rigorous clinical studies, Macugen was effective and well-tolerated over two years, an important consideration for older patients treated for this chronic, progressive disease.”

It is thought around 2.5 million people in the EU have some form of form of neovascular AMD, which causes severe vision loss in patients aged 50 or over.

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