Oral Treatment for Wet AMD Shows Promise

Alkahest Inc. has reported that AKST4290, an oral medication for treatment of wet AMD, was shown in trials to be safe, effective, and “extremely promising”. Speaking at the 2019 Retina World Congress, Michael Stewart, MD (Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville), reported that 83% of subjects’ eyes had improved acuity of a mean 7+ letters, and 21% gained [Read More]

First Gene Therapy for AMD Performed

Researchers at the University of Oxford have carried out the world’s first gene therapy operation to tackle the root cause of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). An 80-year-old woman with AMD is the first of ten people to receive the treatment. The procedure was carried out at the John Radcliffe Hospital by Professor Robert MacLaren, Professor [Read More]

New Findings in Genetic Pathologies of AMD

With recent successes in gene replacement therapy, scientists are enthused about studying how genetic variants play a part in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).  Previous research has identified 34 small genomic regions (“loci”) on the DNA molecule and 52 genetic variants (mutations) within those loci that are associated with AMD. Variants can regulate certain genes to [Read More]

Study Finds That Anti-VEGF Drug Treatments For Wet AMD Do Not Cause Strokes

Three anti-VEGF drugs are in clinical use for treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD). These are Lucentis (ranibizumab), off-label Avastin (bevacizumab), and Eylea (ranibizumab). The rate of stroke from intravitreal injections of Lucentis was found in the early clinical trials to be 0.2% (1 of 525) in the combined group of patients compared to [Read More]

Yet Another Sustained-Delivery Anti-VEGF Drug Ready For Phase 2

A report at the Hawaiian Eye & Retina 2019 conference revealed another sustained-delivery drug, GB-102, for treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).  Graybug Vision’s ADAGIO study has now provided evidence that GB-102 can continuously inhibit activity of VEGF for several months. The treatment was well-tolerated in the study and found to be free of dose [Read More]