Ocuphire licenses oral drug candidate for retinal diseases
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Ocuphire Pharma entered into an agreement with Apexian Pharmaceuticals for a worldwide sublicense for Apexian’s Ref-1 inhibitor program, according to a press release.
Lead drug candidate APX3330 is an orally administered small molecule drug candidate that targets and inhibits the Ref-1 protein to treat patients with diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema. APX3330 may help to improve eye health in patients with diabetes by reducing inflammation, hypoxia signaling and abnormal angiogenesis.
“APX3330 is an oral drug that has demonstrated a promising safety profile, predicted [pharmacokinetics] and target engagement on APE1/Ref-1 in previous clinical trials. The partnership with Ocuphire will also allow us to develop the extensive pipeline of Ref-1 inhibitors including APX2009 for future ophthalmology therapeutic interventions including in age-related macular degeneration,” Mark R. Kelley, PhD, chief scientific officer of Apexian, said in the release.
Ocuphire plans to begin a phase 2 proof-of-concept study of APX3330 in nonproliferative DR and DME this year.