Long-Term AMD Trial Could Offer Even More Insights, According to Robert A. Goldberg of Bay Area Retina Associates | ASRS 2025

Even though results from the OAKS and DERBY trials—and the long-term GALE extension study—have already made an impact in understanding geographic atrophy (GA) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), more findings may still be on the way.

That’s according to Roger A. Goldberg, M.D., MBA, of Bay Area Retina Associates, who spoke today during the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting in Long Beach, Calif.

Goldberg shared that researchers are still analyzing large amounts of data gathered from these studies. The GALE study is now moving into its fifth year and continues to follow a large group of patients.

“We’re going to get a lot more insight into which of the patients that might benefit the most from treatment, which are the patients at highest risk of progression, of losing the foveal center point,” Goldberg told MHE.

The OAKS and DERBY studies enrolled about 1,200 patients, and while their primary goal was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of new GA treatments over two years, the GALE extension is providing a longer-term view of patient outcomes. Goldberg said the extended timeline and wealth of data, including imaging and vision testing, will allow researchers to dig deeper into how GA progresses and which patients respond best to therapy.

He also compared the ongoing analyses of GALE to how experts continue to learn from earlier AMD trials such as VIEW 1 and VIEW 2, which were completed over a decade ago.

Aside from their age, those studies are still offering new takeaways in the field of wet macular degeneration.

“Honestly, we’re just kind of unearthing [GALE], and it’s an enormous data set,” Goldberg said. “Lots of great info that can help guide retina specialists on how to treat and manage our patients with geographic atrophy.”

As more post hoc analyses are conducted, Goldberg expects GALE to continue influencing AMD care for years to come.