Macular Degeneration
Recent clinical, regulatory, research and industry developments relating to this disease.
Regulatory T cells limit age-associated retinal inflammation and neurodegeneration.
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PINK1/PARKIN signalling in neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation.
Immune complement and coagulation dysfunction in adverse outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Autologous Induced Stem-Cell-Derived Retinal Cells for Macular Degeneration.
What's happening now
An analyst briefing on current research, clinical, regulatory and industry activity surrounding this disease.
- 5 regulatory approvals from EMA on record.
- 6 clinical trials expected to report results, the earliest in Q4 2027.
- Q4 2027A Multi-center, Randomized, Double-masked, Active-comparator-controlled, Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Ixoberogene Soroparvovec (Ixo-vec) in Participants With Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration (AQUARIUS)
- Q4 2027A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Masked, Placebo-Controlled Phase 3 Study of the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Subcutaneously Administered Pozelimab in Combination With Cemdisiran or Cemdisiran Alone in Participants With Geographic Atrophy Secondary to Age-Related Macular Degeneration
- Q1 2028A Phase III, Randomized, Open-Label, Active-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Subretinal Injection of LX102 in Participants With Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration - The STELLAR Trial
- Q4 2028Efficacy of Faricimab in Patients With Subretinal Hyperreflective Material Associated With Type 2 or Mixed Neovascular Membranes Assessed by Multimodal Imaging
- Q4 2028Vitrectomy, Subretinal Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Intravitreal Gas for Submacular Haemorrhage Secondary to Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration (TIGER): a Phase 3, Pan-European, Two-group, Observer-masked, Superiority, Randomised Controlled Surgical Trial.
Clinical MilestonesView all 9Hide
- 2026-07-15A Multi-center, Randomized, Double-masked, Active-comparator-controlled, Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Ixoberogene Soroparvovec (Ixo-vec) in Participants With Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration (AQUARIUS)Results expected Q4 2027
- 2026-07-09A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Masked, Placebo-Controlled Phase 3 Study of the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Subcutaneously Administered Pozelimab in Combination With Cemdisiran or Cemdisiran Alone in Participants With Geographic Atrophy Secondary to Age-Related Macular DegenerationResults expected Q4 2027
- 2026-07-07A Randomized, Controlled, Partially Masked, Phase 3b Study to Assess the Injection Burden, Efficacy, Safety, and Long-Term Preservation of Visual Acuity of Surabgene Lomparvovec (ABBV-RGX-314) in a Real-World Context in Subjects With Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration (nAMD)Results expected Q1 2033
- 2026-05-28Efficacy of Faricimab in Patients With Subretinal Hyperreflective Material Associated With Type 2 or Mixed Neovascular Membranes Assessed by Multimodal ImagingResults expected Q4 2028
- 2026-05-15Vitrectomy, Subretinal Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Intravitreal Gas for Submacular Haemorrhage Secondary to Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration (TIGER): a Phase 3, Pan-European, Two-group, Observer-masked, Superiority, Randomised Controlled Surgical Trial.Results expected Q4 2028
- 2025-10-14An Open-label, Non-randomized, Multi-center, Phase 4 Pharmacokinetic Study to Evaluate the Systemic Exposure After Bilateral Intravitreal Administration of High Dose (8 mg) Aflibercept in Adults With Diabetic Macular Edema or Neovascular Age-related Macular DegenerationCompleted
- 2025-09-05A Phase 3, Open-Label, Multicenter, Extension Study to Evaluate the Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Pegcetacoplan in Subjects With Geographic Atrophy Secondary to Age-Related Macular DegenerationCompleted
Regulatory UpdatesViewHide
- 2025-09-15Approval — AfliberceptEyluxvi is indicated for adults for the treatment of- neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (see section 5.1),- visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (branch RVO or central RVO) (see section 5.1),- visual impairment due to diabetic macular oedema (DME) (see section 5.1),- visual impairment due to myopic choroidal neovascularisation (myopic CNV) (see section 5.1).
- 2025-08-18Approval — AfliberceptAfiveg is indicated for adults for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (see section 1), visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (branch RVO or central RVO) (see section 5.1), visual impairment due to diabetic macular oedema (DME) (see section1), visual impairment due to myopic choroidal neovascularisation (myopic CNV) (see section 5.1).
- 2025-08-18Approval — AfliberceptMynzepli is indicated for adults for the treatment of- neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD),- visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (branch RVO or central RVO),- visual impairment due to diabetic macular oedema (DME),- visual impairment due to myopic choroidal neovascularisation (myopic CNV)
- 2025-08-14Approval — AfliberceptEiyzey is indicated for adults for the treatment of- neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (see section 5.1),- visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (branch RVO or central RVO) (see section 5.1),- visual impairment due to diabetic macular oedema (DME) (see section 5.1),- visual impairment due to myopic choroidal neovascularisation (myopic CNV) (see section 5.1)s.
- 2025-08-14Approval — AfliberceptVgenfli is indicated for adults for the treatment of- neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD),- visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (branch RVO or central RVO),- visual impairment due to diabetic macular oedema (DME),- visual impairment due to myopic choroidal neovascularisation (myopic CNV).
- 2026-07-15ClinicalA Multi-center, Randomized, Double-masked, Active-comparator-controlled, Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Ixoberogene Soroparvovec (Ixo-vec) in Participants With Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration (AQUARIUS)Results expected Q4 2027
- 2026-07-09ClinicalA Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Masked, Placebo-Controlled Phase 3 Study of the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Subcutaneously Administered Pozelimab in Combination With Cemdisiran or Cemdisiran Alone in Participants With Geographic Atrophy Secondary to Age-Related Macular DegenerationResults expected Q4 2027
- 2026-07-07ClinicalA Randomized, Controlled, Partially Masked, Phase 3b Study to Assess the Injection Burden, Efficacy, Safety, and Long-Term Preservation of Visual Acuity of Surabgene Lomparvovec (ABBV-RGX-314) in a Real-World Context in Subjects With Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration (nAMD)Results expected Q1 2033
- 2026-05-28ClinicalEfficacy of Faricimab in Patients With Subretinal Hyperreflective Material Associated With Type 2 or Mixed Neovascular Membranes Assessed by Multimodal ImagingResults expected Q4 2028
- 2026-05-15ClinicalVitrectomy, Subretinal Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Intravitreal Gas for Submacular Haemorrhage Secondary to Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration (TIGER): a Phase 3, Pan-European, Two-group, Observer-masked, Superiority, Randomised Controlled Surgical Trial.Results expected Q4 2028
- 2026-03-05ClinicalA Phase III, Randomized, Open-Label, Active-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Subretinal Injection of LX102 in Participants With Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration - The STELLAR TrialResults expected Q1 2028
- 2026-01-30ClinicalA Phase IIIb, Multicenter, Randomized, Visual Assessor-Masked Study Of The Effectiveness And Safety Of A 36-Week Refill Regimen For The Port Delivery System With Ranibizumab Vs Aflibercept Treat & Extend In Subjects With Neovascular Age-Related Macular DegenerationWithdrawn
- 2025-10-14ClinicalAn Open-label, Non-randomized, Multi-center, Phase 4 Pharmacokinetic Study to Evaluate the Systemic Exposure After Bilateral Intravitreal Administration of High Dose (8 mg) Aflibercept in Adults With Diabetic Macular Edema or Neovascular Age-related Macular DegenerationCompleted
- 2025-09-15RegulatoryApproval — AfliberceptEyluxvi is indicated for adults for the treatment of- neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (see section 5.1),- visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (branch RVO or central RVO) (see section 5.1),- visual impairment due to diabetic macular oedema (DME) (see section 5.1),- visual impairment due to myopic choroidal neovascularisation (myopic CNV) (see section 5.1).
- 2025-09-05ClinicalA Phase 3, Open-Label, Multicenter, Extension Study to Evaluate the Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Pegcetacoplan in Subjects With Geographic Atrophy Secondary to Age-Related Macular DegenerationCompleted
Therapeutic landscape
Therapies with a regulatory footing for this condition, alongside the wider set of agents co-studied with it in the literature.
Approval — Eyluxvi is indicated for adults for the treatment of- neovascular (wet) age-related macul… (2025)
Clinical trials
The current development programme across all trial phases.
Regulatory timeline
Drug regulatory events matched to this condition by indication — EMA.
European Medicines Agency (CC BY 4.0). Events are matched to this condition by drug indication text — approvals/updates for drugs indicated for it, not disease-specific acts.
Research activity
Key research shaping understanding of this disease, combining the latest publications with the most influential evidence.
Major themes8
- Macular Degeneration4
- Diabetic Retinopathy2
- Global Health2
- Aging1
- Angiogenesis Inhibitors1
- Angiopoietin-21
- Antibodies, Bispecific1
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome1
Leading journals6
- The Lancet. Global health2
- Acta neuropathologica communications1
- Archives of ophthalmology (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)1
- Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology1
- International journal of molecular sciences1
- Lancet (London, England)1
Leading researchers8
- Holz FG2
- Wong TY2
- Ackland P1
- Akimaru H1
- Alves CH1
- Amano N1
- Amato R1
- Ambrósio AF1
Affiliations (unnormalised)6
- University of Cambridge2
- and Bernard and Shirlee Brown Glaucoma Laboratory1
- Anglia Ruskin University1
- Babraham Institute1
- Bascom Palmer Eye Institute1
- Brien Holden Vision Institute1
Related conditions
Diseases frequently studied alongside this one. Number shows shared papers.
Disease profile
A grounded synthesis of the condition — overview, causes, mechanism, risk factors and current standard of care.
Macular degeneration is a degenerative disease of the retina that usually affects older adults. It damages the macula lutea and leads to loss of central vision, and it occurs in dry and wet forms.
The supplied grounding does not identify a specific cause or aetiology for macular degeneration. It is described as an age-related degenerative retinal condition, but no single causal factor is supported here.
The disease involves degenerative changes in the retina with damage to the macula, resulting in reduced central visual acuity. The literature grounding also links age-related macular degeneration to altered signal transduction and to thyroid hormone signaling imbalance in retinal cells, including photoreceptors, Müller glia, and pigmented epithelial cells.
Older age is the clearest risk factor supported by the grounding, since the disease is described as usually occurring in older adults. The supplied material also associates age-related macular degeneration with thyroid disorders and thyroid hormone homeostasis imbalance, but does not establish these as proven risk factors.
The grounding supports diagnosis and drug therapy as major literature themes, but it does not specify a particular treatment standard. At the modality level, management is generally described in terms of diagnostic evaluation and drug therapy, with the disease occurring in dry and wet forms.
AI-generated summary grounded in MeSH and 6 peer-reviewed sources. Informational only — not medical advice. Generated 2026-07-07.
Reference
Authoritative identity, definition & identifiers.
Degenerative changes in the RETINA usually of older adults which results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field (the MACULA LUTEA) because of damage to the retina. It occurs in dry and wet forms.
- Disease identity & definition — NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), public domain
- Clinical trials — ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
- Research activity — Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI) + OpenAlex-derived paper links
- Related entities are derived from literature co-mention (studied together) — associative, not causal.