Melbourne, Australia, 03 May 2020: OccuRx, a biotechnology company focused on improving lives by developing innovative precision treatments for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases is pleased to announce that we will be presenting an oral presentation at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 3rd – 7th May 2020.
The company will present two oral presentations at the annual scientific meeting, which will be held as a virtual event.
The first presentation is titled: ‘Oral delivery of a novel small molecule drug, OCX063, protects against vascular leakage and fibrosis in a rodent model of neovascular age-related macular degeneration.’ The presentation demonstrates the oral delivery of the anti-fibrotic drug candidate, OCX063, not only reduced fibrosis, but was also effective at reducing vascular leakage in a rodent model of age-related neovascular macular degeneration (nAMD).
The second presentation is titled: ‘A novel small molecule drug is protective against inflammatory, fibrotic and angiogenic phenotypes in retinal cultures’. The findings demonstrate that OCX063 prevents retinal inflammation, vascular pathology and fibrosis in various cultures of retinal cells, highlighting its multifactorial effects and potential for treating proliferative retinal diseases.
Retinal neurodegenerative diseases like diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetic macular edema (DME) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are associated with retinal inflammation, leading to angiogenesis and fibrosis. Diabetic retinopathy is the main cause of vision loss, including complete blindness, among adults and is associated with neuroinflammation, vascular pathology and ultimately, fibrosis. Current treatments do not prevent disease progression, highlighting a need for therapies that target fibrosis.
OccuRx has previously published preclinical data demonstrating that the small molecule drug OCX063 is orally active and has anti-inflammatory/anti-fibrotic effects, using in vivo DR and AMD models, as well as various in vitro assays.
These promising results suggest that OCX063 could be used as an adjunct therapy in combination with current standard of care to improve long-term clinical outcomes in patients with nAMD, and also as a novel targeted therapy for other retinal diseases, including diabetic retinopathy.
“It’s exciting to present at ARVO but having two oral presentations that showcase our new research is really a highlight for us this year. We are currently underway with our Phase I single ascending dose healthy volunteer study which brings us closer to potentially having treatments available to not only treat but also prevent fibrosis and inflammation.” said Professor Darren Kelly, Executive Chair of OccuRx.
Paper publication references:
M Papadimitriou, Z Ablonczy, A Whitlock, E Fletcher, FL Khong, D Kelly.” Oral delivery of a novel small molecule drug, OCX063, protects against vascular leakage and fibrosis in a rodent model of neovascular age-related macular degeneration” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science June 2020, Vol.61(7), 3975
RCK Kong, E Chan, AJ Cox, S Glowacka, FL Khong, M Papadimitriou, D Kelly. ”OCX063, a novel small molecule drug, is protective against inflammatory, fibrotic and angiogenic phenotypes in retinal cultures” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science June 2020, Vol.6(7)1, 4281
