Woman Says Apellis Pharmaceutical’s Macular Degeneration Drug Caused Blindness

DALLAS — A Texas woman has sued Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. in federal court, alleging that its macular degeneration drug Syfovre (pegcetacoplan) caused her to go blind in both eyes and ultimately required surgical removal of her left eye.

In an Aug. 12 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Tricia Lyday alleges that Apellis marketed the drug for off-label uses, despite that it was approved for the limited purpose of treating geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

GA from AMD is a disorder of the central portion of the retina characterized …