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One-year outcomes of faricimab versus aflibercept treatment for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: a comparative study

Eye (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Objective

To compare the effectiveness of intravitreal faricimab and aflibercept injections in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Methods

This retrospective study analysed 111 treatment-naïve eyes (111 patients) with PCV who received intravitreal injections of either faricimab (30 eyes) or aflibercept (81 eyes). All patients were treated with three initial monthly loading injections. Visual and anatomical outcomes were compared between the two treatment groups after 12 months.

Results

After 12 months of treatment, mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved significantly in both the faricimab-treated and aflibercept groups (P < 0.05), with no significant difference in the extent of improvement between the two groups. Similarly, no significant differences were found in the reduction of central retinal thickness or subfoveal choroidal thickness, nor in the proportion of eyes with dry macula after treatment. However, the faricimab group showed a significantly greater reduction in maximum pigment epithelial detachment (PED) thickness from baseline than the aflibercept group (48.2% vs. 38.7%; P = 0.015). A higher proportion of eyes in the faricimab group also showed a PED thickness reduction >50% (66.7% vs. 42.0%; P = 0.021). The rate of polypoidal lesion regression did not differ significantly between the groups (50.0% vs. 38.3%; P = 0.256).

Conclusion

Intravitreal faricimab injections resulted in visual and anatomical improvements comparable to aflibercept in patients with PCV over 12 months of treatment, including a similar rate of polyp regression. In addition, faricimab was more effective in reducing PED thickness.

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Fig. 1: Mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (left) and central retinal thickness (CRT) (right) in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy over 12 months of treatment.
Fig. 2: Changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness (left) and maximum pigment epithelial detachment (PED) thickness (right) in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy treated with faricimab or aflibercept.
Fig. 3: Proportion of eyes with dry macula during treatment.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Kim’s Eye Hospital Research Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kim’s Eye Hospital, Konyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Jaejin Cho, Hee Yong Han, Sangmin Park, Jae Hui Kim & Han Joo Cho

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  1. Jaejin Cho
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  2. Hee Yong Han
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  4. Jae Hui Kim
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Contributions

Design and conduction of the study (HJC); Data collection (HJC, HYH, SP, IY, and JHK); Analysis and interpretation of data (HJC and JC); Writing of the article (HJC and JC); Critical revision and final approval of article (HJC).

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Correspondence to Han Joo Cho.

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Cho, J., Han, H.Y., Park, S. et al. One-year outcomes of faricimab versus aflibercept treatment for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: a comparative study. Eye (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-025-03980-2

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