Comparison of Treatment rOutine Using afLibERcept: Strict vs relAxed retreatmeNT Regimen

Exclusion Criteria

• •General:
• •Inability to comply with study or follow-up procedures.
• •Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women.
• •Women of child-bearing potential, not using or not willing to continue using a medically reliable method of contraception for the entire study duration, such as oral, injectable, or implantable contraceptives, or intrauterine contraceptive devices, or who are not using any other method considered sufficiently reliable by the Investigator in individual cases. (Female participants who are surgically sterilised/hysterectomised, or post-menopausal for longer than 2 years are not considered as being of child-bearing potential.)
• •Any type of systemic disease or its treatment, in the opinion of the Investigator, including any medical condition (controlled or uncontrolled) that could be expected to progress, recur, or change to such an extent that it may bias the assessment of the clinical status of the patient to a significant degree or put the patient at special risk.
• •Stroke or myocardial infarction less than 3 months prior to the date of informed consent signature.
• •Uncontrolled blood pressure defined as systolic value of \>160 mmHg or diastolic value of \>100 mmHg at screening or baseline.
• •Known hypersensitivity to aflibercept or any component of the aflibercept formulation, or fluorescein.
• •Prior or current use of any systemic anti-VEGF drugs \[e.g., bevacizumab (Avastin®) or ranibizumab (Lucentis®)\].
• •Current or planned use of systemic medications known to be toxic to the lens, retina or optic nerve, including chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil®), deferoxamine, phenothiazines, tamoxifen, and ethambutol.
• •Use of systemic or intravitreal corticosteroids for at least 30 consecutive days within 3 months prior to the date of informed consent signature.
• •Use of other investigational drugs within 6 months prior to the date of informed consent signature.
• •Patient was previously screened for participation in the study and was a screen failure.
• •Study eye:
• •Any active periocular or ocular infection or inflammation (e.g., blepharitis, conjunctivitis, keratitis,scleritis, uveitis, endophthalmitis) at the time of screening or baseline.
• •Uncontrolled glaucoma \[intraocular pressure (IOP) ≥30 mmHg on medication or according to Investigator's judgment\] at the time of screening or baseline.
• •Neovascularisation of the iris or neovascular glaucoma at the time of screening or baseline.
• •Inability of obtaining SD-OCT images of sufficient quality to be analysed.
• •Any intraocular procedure (including Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet capsulotomy) within 2 months prior to the date of informed consent signature or anticipated within the next 6 months following the date of informed consent signature.
• •Visually significant cataract, aphakia, pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, vitreous haemorrhage, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, proliferative diabetic retinopathy or CNV of any cause other than wAMD at the time of screening and baseline.
• •Structural damage within 0.5 disc diameter of the centre of the macula at the time of screening or baseline that in the Investigator's opinion could preclude visual function improvement with treatment.
• •Subretinal hemorrhage involving the central foveal subfield with a site of ≥1 disc diameter at the time of screening or baseline.
• •Intraocular treatment with any anti-VEGF drug or intravitreal corticosteroids or previous treatment with photodynamic therapy or retinal laser therapy prior to the date of informed consent signature.