Texas Retina’s Ashkan M. Abbey, MD, served as a principal site investigator for the Phase II VERONA clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of the vorolanib intravitreal insert (EYP-1901) in diabetic macular edema (DME). He was recently interviewed for an article about the study results in Retinal Physician along with Jay S. Duker, MD, the CEO of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, and Talia R. Kaden, MD, an associate professor of ophthalmology at NYU Langone Health in New York, New York.

About EYP-1901 and the VERONA Trial
EYP-1901 is an investigational drug developed by EyePoint Pharmaceuticals that Texas Retina has been involved in studying for several years. It is a bioerodible, sustained-delivery intravitreal insert designed to release microgram levels of vorolanib, a sustained release tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with activity against all vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors, into the eye’s vitreous chamber. The aim of EYP-1901 is to reduce the frequency of treatments needed compared to current standard-of-care anti-VEGF intravitreal injections.

“The VERONA trial was designed to assess the durability, safety and efficacy of EYP-1901 in patients with previously treated DME compared to a control arm that received aflibercept,” explains Dr. Abbey. “The primary endpoint was time to first supplemental anti-VEGF injection.”

All patients in the VERONA trial received a single aflibercept 2 mg injection at Day 1, followed by either vorolanib 1.3 mg, 2.7 mg, or a sham injection. Patients were followed monthly for 24 weeks and received supplemental anti-VEGF injections per prespecified criteria. VERONA met its primary endpoint, with both vorolanib doses demonstrating extended time to first supplemental treatment vs. aflibercept. Additional key results included the following:

  • Up to week 24, 73% of vorolanib 2.7 mg arm patients remained supplement free.
  • Following a single injection of EYP-1901, a clinically meaningful improvement in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) with vision gains around 7 letters was reported at week 24.
  • The vision gains were accompanied by improved and controlled anatomy with a decrease in retinal thickness of more than 75 µm in the vorolanib 2.7 mg arm.

“Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), such as vorolanib, have a different mechanism of action compared with typical anti-VEGF therapies,” shares Dr. Abbey. “Unlike anti-VEGF therapies, which work extracellularly to block the ligand VEGF-A, TKIs function intracellularly to inhibit all VEGF receptors. This mechanism of action may complement that of typical anti-VEGF therapies and provides rationale for a potential combination approach.”

Previous Texas Retina Studies on EYP-1901
In 2022, Texas Retina Associates randomized the first patient in EyePoint Pharmaceuticals’ Phase 2 “Durasert and Vorolanib in Ophthalmology 2” (DAVIO 2) clinical trial of EYP-1901 for patients with wet macular degeneration. Dr. Abbey presented topline results from that study at the 2024 Retinal World Congress Meeting. Earlier this year, he presented the first-year results of DAVIO 2 at Hawaiian Eye and Retina 2025.

About Ashkan M. Abbey, MD
Dr. Abbey serves as Texas Retina’s Director of Research for Dallas and also cares for patients in Texas Retina’s  Dallas Main and Rockwall offices.

You can learn more about him here.

Click here to learn about all of the clinical trials currently available at Texas Retina.