ADAPT OCULUS Trial Shows Promising Results in Treatment Efficacy for Ocular MG: Carolina Barnett-Tapia, MD, PhD

Carolina Barnett-Tapia, MD, PhD, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Toronto, discussed the results of the ADAPT OCULUS trial (NCT06558279), which tested the efficacy of efgartigimod alfa (VYVGART; Argenx) when used in patients with ocular myasthenia gravis (oMG). The results of the trial were presented during the 2026 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, held in Chicago from April 18 to 22, 2026.

The ADAPT OCULUS trial enrolled patients with only oMG, with symptoms including drooped eyelids and double vision. The patients received efgartigimod alfa or placebo in a placebo-controlled trial.

“The study was a positive trial, meaning that the patients who received efgartigimod had a significant improvement in their eye symptoms compared with the patients who were in the placebo group,” said Barnett-Tapia.

Patients were switched to efgartigimod in the second part of the study, which was open-label. The researchers found that patients continued to improve on the treatment in both groups.

The treatment primarily targets the symptoms of drooped eyelids and double vision, which Barnett-Tapia highlights as being debilitating for people who live with oMG. “We may think this is just a cosmetic issue, but some people have complete closure of the eye. I have patients who taped their eyelids up to be able to see,” she said.

Double vision could prevent patients from being able to work or read and is often described as the most bothersome symptom of oMG, said Barnett-Tapia. Patients with oMG are not often the focus of studies. In the past, patients with symptoms of oMG specifically would not be eligible for particular therapeutics if they did not see results with treatments like prednisone. These new results give patients with oMG the promise of a treatment to come in the near future.

“I'm very excited about this, because this will open the door for many patients who have had disabling symptoms to potentially have another way to treat them,” Barnett-Tapia concluded.