Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of legal blindness in Australians over 50. It develops slowly over many years before it threatens sight, often in ways that can be challenging and life-altering.

The key to saving sight is intervening early before vision is threatened. But how do you prove that you have slowed down disease progression?

Professor Robyn Guymer AM is CERA’s Deputy Director and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Melbourne. She has led CERA’s Macular Research Unit since 1997 and is a world-leading authority on age-related macular degeneration.

For the 16th Gerard Crock Lecture, Professor Guymer presented AMD as an illustrative example of the complexity around proving that an intervention is successful in slowing a chronic, progressive disease – and the implications this poses for convincing regulators to approve emerging treatments.