The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first drug for a common and irreversible form of vision loss. Whether the medicine, developed by Apellis Pharmaceuticals, can safely help patients maintain their sight for longer isn’t yet clear, though, setting up a potential debate among eye doctors about its use.
The regulator cleared the drug, which will be sold as Syfovre, for people with the condition, called geographic atrophy. An eye injection administered once every 25 to 60 days, the drug is meant to slow the progression of the disease, a condition Apellis believes to affect at least 1 million people in the U.S. alone.
