A proposed eye medicine from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Bayer met its main goal of treating vision loss from macular degeneration, US drug regulators said.

The drug, under the proposed trade name Eylea, was shown to be as effective as a similar eye drug Lucentis from Roche Holding, the Food and Drug Administration staff said in documents released on Wednesday.

Regeneron shares were up about 6.3 per cent at $58.51 in morning trading.

A panel of outside reviewers is scheduled to consider the drug at a meeting on Friday. – Reuters