Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36284220›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2022

Association of complement C3 inhibitor pegcetacoplan with reduced photoreceptor degeneration beyond areas of geographic atrophy.

Maximilian Pfau, Steffen Schmitz-Valckenberg, Ramiro Ribeiro, Reza Safaei, Alex McKeown, Monika Fleckenstein, Frank G Holz

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02503332 (A Phase II, Multicenter, Randomized, Single-Masked, Sham-Controlled Study of Safety, Tolerability and Evidence of Activity of Intravitreal APL-2 Therapy in Patients With Geographic Atrophy), which is not on this map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
7.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02503332 phase2completednot on this map

A Phase II, Multicenter, Randomized, Single-Masked, Sham-Controlled Study of Safety, Tolerability and Evidence of Activity of Intravitreal APL-2 Therapy in Patients With Geographic Atrophy (GA)

TypeinterventionalSponsorApellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Ran2015 to 2018Enrolled246ConditionsGeographic AtrophyArmsPegcetacoplan, Sham Procedure
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Review
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  6. Review
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  9. Drug Delivery Technologies for the Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
    Review
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  13. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.

Maximilian PfauDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Steffen Schmitz-ValckenbergDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. steffen.valckenberg@utah.edu.
Ramiro RibeiroApellis Pharmaceuticals, Waltham, MA, USA.
Reza SafaeiApellis Pharmaceuticals, Waltham, MA, USA.
Alex McKeownApellis Pharmaceuticals, Waltham, MA, USA.
Monika FleckensteinGRADE Reading Center, Bonn, Germany.
Frank G HolzDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals (United States) · USUniversity of Bonn · DE

Funding

University of Utah, Core Vision Research GrantP30EY014800 · NEI · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · PI Jun Yang · 2005 to 2026
$14.6M
NEI NIH HHS P30 EY014800
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Preservation of photoreceptors beyond areas of retinal pigment epithelium atrophy is a critical treatment goal in eyes with geographic atrophy (GA) to prevent vision loss. Thus, we assessed the association of treatment with the complement C3 inhibitor pegcetacoplan with optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based photoreceptor laminae thicknesses in this post hoc analysis of the FILLY trial (NCT02503332). Retinal layers in OCT were segmented using a deep-learning-based pipeline and extracted along evenly spaced contour-lines surrounding areas of GA. The primary outcome measure was change from baseline in (standardized) outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness at the 5.16°-contour-line at month 12. Participants treated with pegcetacoplan monthly had a thicker ONL along the 5.16° contour-line compared to the pooled sham arm (mean difference [95% CI] + 0.29 z-score units [0.16, 0.42], P < 0.001). The same was evident for eyes treated with pegcetacoplan every other month (+ 0.26 z-score units [0.13, 0.4], P < 0.001). Additionally, eyes treated with pegcetacoplan exhibited a thicker photoreceptor inner segment layer along the 5.16°-contour-line at month 12. These findings suggest that pegcetacoplan could slow GA progression and lead to reduced thinning of photoreceptor layers beyond the GA boundary. Future trials in earlier disease stages, i.e., intermediate AMD, aiming to slow photoreceptor degeneration warrant consideration.

Indexed as

Geographic AtrophyAnimalsComplement C3Complement Inactivating AgentsFluorescein AngiographyHumansPeptides, CyclicRetinal Pigment EpitheliumTomography, Optical CoherenceVisual AcuityComplement C3Complement Inactivating AgentspegcetacoplanPeptides, Cyclic

Identifiers

PMID36284220
PMCPMC9596427
OpenAlexW4307657651

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.