One Family’s Journey with Geographic Atrophy

In 2014, Mary was diagnosed with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), despite no noticeable symptoms at the time. Eric says he hadn’t consciously noticed anything indicating his mother could be having significant vision problems—like many, he assumed vision changes are a natural part of aging. But on reflection, Eric remembers she would kind of look at her family at a different angle, or sometimes confuse her two sons because she couldn’t make out their faces in certain lights.

Dry AMD may progress to a more serious condition, geographic atrophy (GA), a progressive and irreversible disease that can lead to significant vision loss. GA often goes undiagnosed. But that’s not so surprising, since Mary herself hadn’t noticed any radical decline in her eyesight at first either. “I’ve only noticed a change with my vision during my hobbies in the past two years,” she says. “Prior to that, everything seemed to remain pretty stable.”

What is geographic atrophy?

In the U.S., 1.5 million people are estimated to have GA—up to 75% of whom are believed to be undiagnosed. The symptoms of GA can be subtle, but common signs include:

• Seeing washed-out colors
• Difficulty seeing in low light or at night
• Straight lines that look wavy or crooked
• Blurriness or blank spots in the field of vision, making it difficult to recognize faces
• Loss of central vision, making it challenging to perform tasks like reading or driving

Because the disease can advance quickly and lead to irreversible vision loss, it’s important to schedule regular vision checkups with an eye doctor, such as an ophthalmologist or retina specialist, in order to catch the disease early, leading to more timely management and treatment decisions.

Mary’s path to treatment

Two years ago, she was diagnosed with GA. “Everything was going fine, and then she gets news of this disease that can cause her to go blind. It was extremely devastating,” Eric says.

The diagnosis moved Mary’s family to do some research into what, if any, options were available to help preserve Mary’s vision for longer. After consulting with her retina specialist, who explained treatment options and associated risks, Mary decided to proceed with IZERVAY™ (avacincaptad pegol intravitreal solution), a prescription eye injection used to treat GA.

IZERVAY was shown to slow GA progression in two clinical trials evaluating 624 people with GA. In just one year, IZERVAY slowed GA progression by 18% to 35%, compared with those who were not treated.

Mary’s retina specialist informed her that she should not receive IZERVAY if there is an infection in or around the eye, or if there is active swelling in or around the eye that may include pain and redness.

Please see additional Important Safety Information below.

“I was thrilled to hear about IZERVAY, and learn there was a treatment that could slow the progression which could enable me to preserve my eyesight longer,” Mary says.

The rest of her family was equally excited. “IZERVAY provided hope to slow this disease, so that she’ll be an active grandma and continue doing the things she loves,” Eric says.

“I want to be able to continue gardening, cooking, traveling, and spending time with my family,” she says. “The advice I would offer to others with GA is not to hesitate. Slowing down the progression is very important to potentially preserving your vision for longer and continuing to do the things you love to do.”

As for Eric, he has taken his mom’s experience to heart. He started going to an eye doctor and is more aware of his vision and his eye health. “I incorporate her experience into my life, with my children, and pretty much everybody I talk to—because people are unaware,” he says.

Mary is a patient who is receiving or has received IZERVAY (avacincaptad pegol intravitreal solution) injections. This is her experience at the time of publication.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION AND USE

Do NOT receive IZERVAY^® (avacincaptad pegol intravitreal solution) if you:

• Have an infection in or around your eye
• Have active swelling in or around your eye that may include pain and redness

IZERVAY can cause serious side effects including:

• Eye Infection and Retinal Detachment: Eye injections like the one for IZERVAY can cause an eye infection (endophthalmitis) or separation of layers of the retina (retinal detachment).
• Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD): There is a risk of developing wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with IZERVAY. You should report any symptoms (visual distortions such as straight lines seeming bent, deterioration in vision, dark spots, loss of central vision) to your healthcare provider to monitor.
• Increase in Eye Pressure: IZERVAY may cause a temporary increase in eye pressure after the injection. Your healthcare provider will monitor this after each injection.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have redness of the eye, eye pain, increased discomfort, worsening eye redness, blurred or decreased vision, an increased number of small specks floating in your vision, flashes of light, or increased sensitivity to light.

Before receiving IZERVAY tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions including if you:

• Have a history of seeing flashes of light or small specks floating in your vision and if you have a sudden increase of size and number of these specks.
• Have high pressure in the eye or if you have glaucoma.
• Are pregnant or breastfeeding, think you may be pregnant, or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor for advice before taking this medicine.
• Are taking any medications, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Tell your healthcare provider about any medicine you take.

What should I avoid while receiving IZERVAY?

• Your vision may be impaired after receiving an eye injection or after an eye exam. Do not drive or use machinery until your vision has recovered sufficiently.

What are the most common side effects of IZERVAY?

• Blood in the white of the eye
• Blurred vision
• Increase in eye pressure
• Wet AMD
• Mild corneal irritation
• Eye pain

These are not all the possible side effects of IZERVAY. Tell your healthcare provider about any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

What is IZERVAY?

IZERVAY is a prescription eye injection, used to treat geographic atrophy (GA), the advanced form of dry AMD.

Please click here for accompanying full Prescribing Information.

For U.S. audiences only

MAT-US-IZE-2026-00259 03/2026