Eye drops continue to show promise as future treatments for wet AMD and other eye diseases involving blood vessel growth and hemorrhaging in the retina.
In a presentation at the 2015 Ophthalmology Innovation Summit at the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Paul G. Chaney (President and CEO of Panoptica) reported preliminary results from the PAN-90806 clinical development program. The monotherapy arm of a Phase 1/2 study showed signs of safety and encouraging biological activity in patients with wet AMD.
PAN-90806 is a topical eye drop for the treatment of neovascular AMD, diabetic retinopathy, and potentially diabetic macular edema (DME). Panoptica began phase 1 clinical trials in early 2014, with approximately 30 patients at 15 to 20 sites in the U.S.
Another eye drop, OHR-102 (originally “Squalamine”), completed a Phase 2 clinical trial in 2015 and is now entering Phase 3. Developed by OHR, the drug is designed for use in combination with an anti-VEGF injection, and trial results have been positive. 42% of the patients receiving the combination therapy achieved a ≥3 line gain at nine months, as compared to 28% in the group receiving an anti-VEGF treatment alone.
At least two other eye drop formulations have been developed in the past decade, but neither was able to pass the rigors of clinical trials. Researchers are hoping that PAN-90806 and OHR-102 will do so and add yet another tool for treatment of diseases leading to vascular damage in the retina.
