This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Novel pan-VEGF inhibitor shows promise for treating AMD
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
BOSTON — A novel VEGF-C/D inhibitor showed preliminary evidence of clinical activity in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration, according to a study presented here.
“Current treatments target primarily VEGF-A; OPT-302 (Opthea) inhibits VEGF-C as well as VEGF-D,” Pravin U. Dugel, MD, said at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting, where he gave phase 1/2a study results for the VEGF inhibitor.
In the dose escalation portion of the study, four groups of five patients each were given one of the following: 2 mg OPT-302 monotherapy or combination therapy of 0.5 mg Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech) and 0.3 mg, 1 mg or 2 mg of the study drug. In a second part of the study, 23 patients were given 2 mg OPT-302 combined with ranibizumab and eight patients were given OPT-302 monotherapy. Intravitreal injections were given once every 4 weeks for three doses, and best corrected visual acuity and clinical activity as seen on SD-OCT were assessed after the 3-month dosing period.
“This drug met the primary objectives of the phase 1/2A study, which was to demonstrate an excellent safety profile as well as a positive biological signal,” Dugel said. “There’s a preponderance of evidence that pan-VEGF inhibitors, in other words inhibition of A, C and D, is more effective than inhibition of VEGF-A alone. There is potential for additive efficacy and improved durability for OPT-302.” – by Patricia Nale, ELS
Reference:
Dugel PU. A phase 1/2a study of intravitreal OPT-302, a novel VEGF-C/D inhibitor, alone or in combination with ranibizumab in patients with wet AMD. Presented at: American Society of Retina Specialists 35th Annual Meeting, Aug. 11-15, 2017; Boston.
Disclosure: Dugel reports he is a consultant and investigator for Opthea.