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Squalamine enters phase 2 trial for AMD
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PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. — Patient enrollment has begun for a phase 2 trial of the antiangiogenic compound squalamine for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, the drug’s developer announced in a press release.
Genaera Corp. seeks to enroll 18 patients with wet AMD at three dose levels of squalamine. The intravenous drug will be administered at the three levels, once a week for 4 weeks. All patients will be followed for up to 4 months.
According to Genaera's press release, squalamine “directly interrupts and reverses multiple facets of the angiogenic process … [It] inhibits growth factor signaling including [vascular endothelial growth factor], integrin expression and reverses cytoskeletal formation, thereby resulting in endothelial cell inactivation and apoptosis.”
Preclinical studies have shown the compound to be effective in reaching ocular blood vessels in primates, the Ganaera press release said. The company expects to begin phase 3 trials of squalamine in 2005.