Eylea is a drug used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It is also used to treat diabetic eye disease and other problems of the retina. It is injected into the eye to help slow vision loss from these and certain other diseases.
Eylea is the brand name for the drug, which is called aflibercept. It blocks the growth and leaking of fluid from abnormal blood vessels in the back of the eye. Those blood vessels can leak and affect vision, causing vision loss from wet AMD and diabetic eye disease.
Avastin (bevacizumab) is another drug like Eylea. Avastin was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat different types of cancer. Its use to treat eye disease is considered an off-label use. The FDA allows off label drug use if doctors are well informed about the product and studies prove the drug is helpful. Many studies have shown Avastin as safe and effective for eye disease since it was first used in 2005.
Research shows that Eylea and Avastin are both effective in slowing vision loss.
