IZERVAY Reduced Risk of Losing Driving Eligibility in Geographic Atrophy Patients, New Data Shows

New long-term data presented at the 2026 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting suggests that IZERVAY may help patients with geographic atrophy (GA) preserve critical vision-related functions for longer — including the ability to drive.

Astellas Pharma announced results from a pooled post hoc analysis of its pivotal GATHER1 and GATHER2 studies, showing that treatment with IZERVAY reduced the risk of progressing to loss of driving eligibility over 24 months compared with sham treatment in patients with GA secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The findings add to growing evidence supporting the long-term clinical value of complement inhibition therapies in slowing GA progression.

Geographic Atrophy Is a Leading Cause of Irreversible Vision Loss

Geographic atrophy is an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration characterized by progressive degeneration of retinal tissue.

As the disease advances, patients gradually lose central vision, affecting daily activities such as:

• Reading
• Recognizing faces
• Navigating environments
• Driving

Because GA progression is irreversible, preserving functional vision has become a major treatment goal in ophthalmology.

IZERVAY Reduced the Risk of Losing Driving Eligibility

The post hoc analysis evaluated patients who were eligible to drive at baseline, defined by best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of at least 70 ETDRS letters.

Loss of driving eligibility was defined as vision declining to 60 letters or fewer at two consecutive visits.

Key Findings Over 24 Months

Among 403 patients included in the pooled analysis:

• Baseline vision was nearly identical between groups
  • IZERVAY: 76.2 letters
  • Sham: 76.0 letters

At 24 months:

• Risk of progressing to loss of driving eligibility:
  • 12.6% with IZERVAY monthly or every-other-month dosing
  • 20.1% with sham treatment

This represented:

• A 41% relative risk reduction with IZERVAY
• Nominal p-value of 0.0594

When analyzing monthly dosing alone:

• Risk was 15.1% with IZERVAY
• Compared with 20.1% for sham
• Representing a 35% relative risk reduction

Researchers emphasized that the analysis was exploratory and post hoc in nature, meaning the results should be interpreted cautiously and are not considered definitive.

Longer-Term Data Suggest Earlier Treatment May Preserve More Retinal Tissue

A separate oral encore presentation highlighted findings from the GATHER2 open-label extension (OLE) study.

The longer-term data suggested that earlier intervention with IZERVAY may provide greater long-term preservation of healthy retinal tissue.

Key Open-Label Extension Findings

From months 24 to 42:

• Patients switching from monthly or every-other-month IZERVAY to monthly dosing showed:
  • 40.5% reduction in GA lesion growth versus projected sham
• Patients who previously received sham before switching to IZERVAY showed:
  • 37% reduction in lesion growth versus projected sham

Both findings achieved statistical significance (p<0.001).

These data reinforce the idea that sustained complement inhibition may continue slowing disease progression over extended treatment periods.

Safety Profile Remained Consistent in Long-Term Follow-Up

According to Astellas, the open-label extension study demonstrated that IZERVAY remained well tolerated over long-term treatment.

Importantly, investigators reported:

• No new safety signals
• No cases of retinal vasculitis
• No occlusive vasculitis
• No increased risk of intraocular inflammation

The absence of these complications is particularly notable given broader safety concerns historically associated with some intravitreal ophthalmic therapies.

Experts Highlight the Functional Importance of Vision Preservation

Margaret Chang emphasized that geographic atrophy affects far more than visual acuity measurements alone.

According to Chang, preserving vision-dependent activities such as driving can have a major impact on patient independence and quality of life.

The ability to delay functional decline may therefore become an increasingly important outcome measure in future GA studies.

Understanding IZERVAY and the GATHER Clinical Program

IZERVAY is an intravitreal complement inhibitor approved for the treatment of geographic atrophy in:

• The United States
• Australia
• Macau
• Japan (conditional approval)

The therapy was evaluated in two pivotal Phase 3 studies:

• GATHER1
• GATHER2

Both trials were randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled studies evaluating monthly 2 mg intravitreal administration in patients with GA secondary to AMD.

Combined, the studies included more than 700 patients.

The Expanding Geographic Atrophy Treatment Landscape

The geographic atrophy market has evolved rapidly in recent years as complement-targeting therapies emerge for a disease that previously lacked approved treatment options.

Preserving retinal tissue and slowing lesion expansion remain central therapeutic objectives, but newer analyses are increasingly focusing on real-world functional outcomes such as:

• Driving ability
• Reading performance
• Daily independence
• Vision-related quality of life

The latest IZERVAY data reflects this broader shift toward measuring meaningful patient-centered outcomes alongside anatomical endpoints.

Conclusion

The new ARVO 2026 findings suggest that IZERVAY may help delay functional vision decline in patients with geographic atrophy, including reducing the risk of losing driving eligibility over time.

Combined with encouraging long-term safety and lesion-growth data from the GATHER2 extension study, the results further strengthen the growing body of evidence supporting complement inhibition as a viable strategy for slowing GA progression.

As longer-term studies continue, preserving independence and daily functioning may become just as important as slowing retinal degeneration itself.