AMD drugs leading sales

Wet age-related macular degeneration treatment, Eylea (aflibercept), accounted for 41% of all ophthalmology sales in 2017, according to analysis by market insights company GlobalData.

GlobalData explained that the drug, which is marketed by Regeneron in the US, Santen in Japan and Bayer AG in the rest of the world, was the driving force behind sales for three of the five biggest pharmaceutical companies last year.

Regeneron’s projected global sales of ophthalmology products in 2017 was $3,681m (£2,649m).

Healthcare analyst at GlobalData, Thomas Moore, said: “Overall, treatments for wet age-related macular degeneration dominated the ophthalmology portfolios of 2017’s key players.

“Regeneron was the biggest global player in ophthalmology in 2017, despite its portfolio only consisting of Eylea’s US sales. Lucentis (ranibizumab), another biologic for the treatment of wet macular degeneration, helped propel both Novartis and Roche into third and sixth place, respectively.”

Analysis also revealed that glaucoma drugs marketed by Allergan, such as Lumigan (bimatoprost) and Alphagan (brimonidine), helped it become the second highest grossing pharmaceutical company in ophthalmology. Glaucoma drug companies Santen, Pfizer and Valeant made up the rest of the top 10.