The sights of Stockholm

(Images courtesy of Sydney M. Crago)

For the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) 2024 Annual Meeting, we journeyed to Stockholm, Sweden, to take in the capital city’s sights and share in the news of sight-saving studies and advances in retina research. Throughout the 4-day conference, which ran from July 17 through July 20, 2024, primary investigators provided updates to attendees on ongoing trials and unveiled data on new clinical efforts.

Several areas of research featured prominently in the ASRS schedule, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), and inherited retinal diseases.

Modern Retina interviewed presenters and researchers throughout the conference to better understand the new insights discussed. Here, we highlight a few of these interview subjects and topics.

AMD

The first day of the conference began with a look at AMD. Charles C. Wykoff, MD, PhD, FASRS, presented a first-time 26-week interim analysis of results from the phase 2 LUNA study (NCT05536973) evaluating ixoberogene soroparvovec (ixo-vec) intravitreal gene therapy for neovascular AMD. He shared that this trial was designed in part to look at enhanced steroid prophylactic regimens. In these interim results, “the use of oral steroids, a meaningful relatively high dose of prednisone over many weeks, did not provide additional benefit beyond local corticosteroid prophylaxis alone,” according to Wykoff.This knowledge can provide insights as the trial continues and as more gene therapy trials are designed for future candidates.

In addition to speaking with Wykoff, Modern Retina also caught up with other researchers presenting on AMD. In an interview, Eleonora Lad, MD, PhD, gave insights on the LIGHTSITE III study (NCT04065490), in which multiwavelength photobiomodulation reduced the risk for vision loss and the onset of GA and dry AMD. Chase Ludwig, MD, MS, also shared how an analysis of database information helped to answer a question many patients have: “Will vitrectomy surgery worsen AMD?” The answer: “Being able to reassure them that, no, our surgery will not progress your age-related macular degeneration to advanced forms, and that, in fact, it’s very possible that it might be helpful, at least in terms of visual acuity and long-term outcomes, is a wonderful thing,” Ludwig said.

DME

Research continues as trials search for effective solutions to DME. Jordana Fein, MD, MS, highlighted the IOP outcomes in patients with 8 mg vs 2 mg aflibercept through week 48 at the meeting. In the interview, she shared, “We found that baseline IOP and 48-week IOP had no significant difference, plus or minus 1 mm Hg throughout all the treatment arms, suggesting no study eye or fellow eye drift in IOP over time.”

Nathan Steinle, MD, also spoke about DME and discussed sozinibercept, a VEGF-C and VEGF-D inhibitor. He noted that in clinical trials for this candidate, researchers are looking at the results of combination therapy and how, by inhibiting multiple forms of VEGF, there are more improvements in visual acuity.

INHERITED RETINAL DISEASES

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a significant focus in inherited retina disease research. Stephen Russell, MD, provided an overview of the safety and durability of voretigene neparvovec-rzyl for biallelic RPE65. In this conversation, Russell noted that the patients in this trial are being followed for 15 years to ensure that this gene therapy has the intended long-term results. He said that voretigene neparvovec-rzyl provided a breakthrough in gene therapy, and the future of these treatments looks bright. He said technology will advance gene therapy, bringing new treatments in the coming years.

One such treatment may be in clinical trials right now. Michael Singer, MD, presented on the 100-week trial results of the phase 2 RESTORE study (NCT04945772). In this clinical trial, MCO-010, a gene agnostic treatment for RP, met its primary end point of visual acuity; plans to continue monitoring patients who participated in this study will provide additional long-term safety and efficacy data over the next few years.

STOCKHOLM AND BEYOND

For many in attendance, exploring Stockholm was an exciting aspect of this meeting. The onsite treat of traditional cinnamon buns, coffee, and even Swedish meatballs at lunch on the conference’s final day offered attendees a taste of the local cuisine. The closing reception of the meeting was held at the Vasa Museum, a purpose-built museum for the Vasa, which sank in Stockholm’s harbor in the 1600s. The ship was brought to the surface after 333 years underwater, preserved, and is one of the city’s most visited sights today.

Next year’s meeting will pivot from a European destination to the sunny shores of Long Beach, California. Mark your calendars now for July 29 through August 2 for ASRS 2025.

All interviews mentioned in this article are available to watch at ModernRetina.com. •