NCT07705555RecruitingPhase 3
A Clinical Trial of MK-8748 Compared to Aflibercept in Participants With Diabetic Macular Edema (MK-8748-004)
A Randomized, Double-Masked, Multicenter, 3-Arm, Pivotal Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Intravitreal (IVT) MK-8748 Compared With Aflibercept (2 mg) in Participants With Diabetic Macular Edema (DME)
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 3 Nov 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
Researchers are looking for new ways to treat diabetic macular edema (DME). In this trial, researchers want to learn if a trial medicine called MK-8748 can treat DME. An available standard (usual) treatment for DME is aflibercept. However, standard treatments such as aflibercept may not work for every person. The main goal of this trial is to learn if MK-8748 works as well as aflibercept to treat DME.
- Status (registry)
- Recruiting
- Phase (registry)
- Phase 3
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 960 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 10 Jul 2026
- Start date
- 27 Aug 2026
- Primary completion date
- 31 Oct 2028
- Lead sponsor
- Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
- Diseases
- Diabetic eye disease
- NCT number
- NCT07705555
- EU CT number
- 2026-526790-42-00
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional · Phase 3
- Planned participants: 960
- From 27 Aug 2026 to the primary completion date, 31 Oct 2028
- 35 sites in 4 countries
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Has newly diagnosed or previously untreated diabetes mellitus and initiated oral or injectable anti-diabetic medication within 3 months to first dose of study intervention
- Has any treatment for complications of cataract surgery with steroids or yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) laser capsulotomy in the study eye within 90 days of screening
Other illness
- Has had renal failure requiring renal transplant, hemodialysis, or peritoneal dialysis or has renal failure anticipated to require hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis at any time during the study
- Has history of stroke (cerebral vascular accident) or myocardial infarction within 180 days to first dose of study intervention
- Has history of cataract surgery and/or minimally invasive glaucoma surgery in the study eye within 90 days of screening
- Has any history of retinal detachment or treatment or surgery for retinal detachment in the study eye
- Has active retinal disease other than the condition under investigation in the study eye
Other
- The main exclusion criteria include but are not limited to the following:
- Has advanced or uncontrolled glaucoma in the study eye
- Has uncontrolled blood pressure at screening
Who the study is looking for
- The main inclusion criteria include but are not limited to the following:
- Has Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus and a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of ≤12%
- Has a decrease in vision in the study eye determined by the Investigator to be primarily the result of diabetic macular edema (DME)
- For participants who are treatment-naïve for DME, the diagnosis must have been made within 9 months of screening. For all treatment-experienced participants, the first treatment should have been no longer than 3 years prior to the Screening visit
Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (35)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fundacion Zambrano ( Site 0402) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | CABA | Argentina | Recruiting |
| Eyeclinic Albury-Wodonga ( Site 2204) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Albury | Australia | Recruiting |
| Marsden Eye Specialists ( Site 2200) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Parramatta | Australia | Recruiting |
| Strathfield Retina Clinic ( Site 2202) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Strathfield | Australia | Recruiting |
| Sydney Retina Clinic and Day Surgery ( Site 2203) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Sydney | Australia | Recruiting |
| Bristol Eye Hospital ( Site 0902) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Bristol | United Kingdom | Recruiting |
| Austin Retina Associates ( Site 0008) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Austin | United States | Recruiting |
| Retina Consultants of Texas ( Site 0001) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Bellaire | United States | Recruiting |
| Envision Ocular, LLC ( Site 0039) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Bloomfield | United States | Recruiting |
| Charleston Neuroscience Institute ( Site 0087) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Bluffton | United States | Recruiting |
| Midwest Eye Institute ( Site 0113) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Carmel | United States | Recruiting |
| Retina Consultants ( Site 0104) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Charleston | United States | Recruiting |
| Mid Atlantic Retina ( Site 0048) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Cherry Hill | United States | Recruiting |
| Retina Specialists of Colorado ( Site 0068) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Denver | United States | Recruiting |
| Palmetto Retina Center ( Site 0063) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Florence | United States | Recruiting |
| Vitreo Retinal Associates ( Site 0042) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Gainesville | United States | Recruiting |
| Associated Retina Consultants, Ltd ( Site 0084) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Gilbert | United States | Recruiting |
| Global Research Management ( Site 0066) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Glendale | United States | Recruiting |
| Mid Atlantic Retina ( Site 0062) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Hagerstown | United States | Recruiting |
| Southeastern Retina Associates PC ( Site 0071) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Johnson City | United States | Recruiting |
| Southeastern Retina Associates PC ( Site 0018) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Knoxville | United States | Recruiting |
| Retina Associates LLC ( Site 0024) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Lenexa | United States | Recruiting |
| Mississippi Retina Associates, P.A. ( Site 0061) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Madison | United States | Recruiting |
| Retina Consultants ( Site 0065) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Manchester | United States | Recruiting |
| Charleston Neuroscience Institute ( Site 0022) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Mt. Pleasant | United States | Recruiting |
| Retina Care Specialists ( Site 0095) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Palm Beach Gardens | United States | Recruiting |
| Retina Associates of Western NY, PC ( Site 0038) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Rochester | United States | Recruiting |
| Retinal Consultants Medical Group ( Site 0013) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Sacramento | United States | Recruiting |
| Austin Retina Associates ( Site 0080) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | San Marcos | United States | Recruiting |
| Retina Consultants of Texas ( Site 0029) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Schertz | United States | Recruiting |
| Retina Vitreous Associates of Florida ( Site 0034) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Tampa | United States | Recruiting |
| Retina Specialists ( Site 0074) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Towson | United States | Recruiting |
| North Carolina Retina Associates ( Site 0064) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Wake Forest | United States | Recruiting |
| Palmetto Retina Center ( Site 0014) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | West Columbia | United States | Recruiting |
| Florida Retina Institute ( Site 0105) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Wildwood | United States | Recruiting |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.