The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation has registered Continia (aflibercept), a drug produced by the Russian company Generium. As the company’s press service told TASS, this is Russia’s first biosimilar of this drug for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases in patients from the age of 18. According to the state register, before that, only Sanofi’s and Bayer’s medications for the condition were present on the Russian market.
According to the company’s press service, aflibercept is a recombinant fusion protein blocking the activity of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs). Its ability to inhibit VEGF has been demonstrated in international research and clinical practice.
The drug is intended for use in retinal diseases characterized by pathological neovascularization and increased vascular permeability, which lead to edema and dystrophic changes, ultimately resulting in decreased visual acuity and potential vision loss.
The Russian medication has four approved indications for use in patients over 18 years of age: neovascular age-related macular degeneration; visual impairment due to macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (central or branch), diabetic macular edema, or myopic choroidal neovascularization.
