CHICAGO — An investigational dual-action inhibitor for geographic atrophy (GA) a wonderful deal slowed disease progression and improved visible acuity after 3 months of medication, a small preliminary gape showed.
GA enhance payment in treated eyes lowered by forty eight% from baseline versus untreated fellow eyes, and activity in the junctional zone of the retina used to be slowed or stabilized in 14 of 18 patients treated with AVD-104. Easiest corrected visible acuity (BCVA) improved by an reasonable of 5.2 letters in treated eyes in comparison with 1.7 letters in untreated eyes.
The findings equipped the muse for a piece IIb/III randomized comparison of AVD-104 and avacincaptad pegol (Izervay) in 300 patients with GA, reported Rishi P. Singh, MD, of the Cleveland Health center, at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting.
“The SIGLEC IIa gape U.S. scientific trial showed animated security with out a dose-limiting toxicity out to some months after a single injection,” mentioned Singh. Sufferers who received AVD-104 1 mg and 3 mg skilled features of 4.8 and 6.5 letters, respectively, at month 3 after a single injection. The patients in this increased-dose cohort also demonstrated a forty eight% prick price in lesion enhance compared with fellow eyes at month 3, and 78% of those patients also skilled a junctional switch in the autofluorescence profile.”
“Seeing these handy advantages and efficacy in geographic atrophy is amazingly promising, and the SIGLEC part IIb/III trial is fully enrolled and active,” he added.
An investigational oral agent for GA also demonstrated preliminary activity. Sufferers treated with gildeuretinol had a 13.4% prick price in GA enhance payment at 24 months versus a placebo defend an eye on neighborhood, reported Alexander Melamud, MD, of the Retina Neighborhood of Washington in Fairfax, Virginia. Remedy with the deuterated diet A agent also slowed the loss of low luminance visible acuity (LLVA).
“Gildeuretinol is the foremost oral therapy to stamp a statistically valuable handy relieve in low luminance visible acuity at month 24,” mentioned Melamud.
The outcomes toughen the theory that reducing diet A dimerization is a doable mechanistic technique to take care of GA, he added.
Focusing on the Junctional Zone
GA trend and progression are driven by complement dysregulation and macrophage overactivation, Singh famed in his introduction. AVD-104 addresses both of those by inhibiting macrophages and binding to enrich factor H to inhibit C3 amplification and stabilize junctional zone pathology.
“The junctional zone has change into crucial in geographic atrophy, as we now bear realized from most contemporary be taught,” mentioned Singh. “In the junctional zone, we know there are inflammatory microglial cells, activated macrophages, and MAC [membrane attack complex]. These cells are injured nevertheless no longer necessarily ineffective. Potentially, stabilization of the structure to boot to rescuing these broken cells might perhaps well well consequence in handy enhance.”
The multicenter part IIa SIGLEC trial used to be a first-in-human gape evaluating single-dose AVD-104 at four dose ranges. Eligible patients had bilateral foveal GA, BCVA of 20/80 to 20/800, and lesion dimension >1.25 mm2. The predominant endpoint used to be security and tolerability at 3 months and dose-limiting toxicity. Secondary endpoints integrated changes in BCVA and GA and imaging biomarkers.
The gape integrated a complete of 30 patients at some stage in the four dose ranges. One drug-associated ocular detrimental event (AE) came about in the ideal-dose cohort. No ocular extreme AEs or dose-limiting toxicity came about.
In contrast with untreated fellow eyes, all dose ranges of AVD-104 slowed GA progression. The ideal prick price in GA enhance (forty eight% versus fellow eyes) came about in the 18 patients who received the 2 highest doses.
The junctional zone might perhaps well well also provide the ideal doable to stabilize or toughen visible function, mentioned Singh. As measured by hyper-autofluorescence (AF), 12 of the 18 patients had enhance in hyper-AF field and two others had no switch representing 78% of the patients treated with the 2 highest doses of AVD-104. The 3-month switch in hyper-AF activity averaged -0.075 mm2 in eyes treated at the 2 highest doses versus -0.03 mm2 in the untreated eyes.
With admire to BCVA field, 40% of all patients treated with AVD-104 had no longer no longer as a lot as a 5-letter create at 3 months. Four patients had features of ≥15 letters.
The junctional zone contains three constructive structural entities as defined by retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) defects, famed Odette Houghton, MD, of the Mayo Health center in Rochester, Minnesota, addressing the rationale for concentrated on with therapy for GA.
“This most animated one is the put there is right preservation of the photoreceptors, which is form 3,” she mentioned. “Preservation of photoreceptors extends beyond the put the RPE defect is, so that raises the unreal of us being ready to look for cell-primarily primarily based fully therapies for geographic atrophy.
Weight loss plan A Replace
GA, neovascular age-associated macular degeneration, and Stargardt disease portion a fashioned disease pathophysiology that involves accumulation of diet A dimers early in the injury cascade, mentioned Melamud. Gildeuretinol used to be designed to interchange diet A loss in the visible cycle by slowing diet A dimerization.
Investigators in the multicenter SAGA trial evaluated gildeuretinol in patients 60 or older with correctly-demarcated GA lesions in no longer no longer as a lot as one leer and BCVA ≥33 letters. Eyes with and without subfoveal involvement were allowed. Possess about contributors were randomized 2:1 to gildeuretinol or placebo, and the foremost endpoint used to be GA lesion enhance at 24 months.
The 13.4% distinction in lesion enhance favoring gildeuretinol didn’t attain statistical significance (P=0.075). Nevertheless, a prespecified sensitivity diagnosis showed that the payment of enhance from 6 to 24 months used to be a wonderful deal decrease in patients who received active medication versus placebo (15.3%, P=0.047).
Gildeuretinol reduced BCVA letter loss compared with placebo, nevertheless the variation didn’t attain statistical significance (3.3, P=0.099). An diagnosis of LLVA at 24 months did point to evidence of handy relieve (4.4 fewer letters misplaced, P=0.031).
Gildeuretinol had a security profile the same to placebo, in conjunction with any-grade medication-emergent detrimental events (TEAEs), extreme TEAEs, extreme TEAEs, and TEAEs associated to the gape drug. No patient treated with gildeuretinol had delayed darkish adaptation or chromatopsia, vasculitis, intraocular irritation, endophthalmitis, or signs of hyper-/hypovitaminosis A, mentioned Melamud.
Disclosures
The SIGLEC gape used to be supported by Aviceda Therapeutics.
Singh reported relationships with Alcon, Apellis, Bausch + Lomb, EyePoint, Genentech, Iveric Bio, Regenxbio, Regeneron, Zeiss, and Janssen.
Houghton reported no relevant relationships with industry.
The SAGA trial used to be supported by Alkeus Prescribed capsules.
Melamud disclosed relationships with Alkeus Prescribed capsules and Iveric Bio.
Fundamental Source
American Academy of Ophthalmology
Source Reference: Singh RP, et al “AVD-104 for geographic atrophy: Efficacy and security findings from the part IIa SIGLEC gape, and an substitute on part IIb/III of SIGLEC” AAO 2024; Retina Subspecialty Day, First-Time Results of Clinical Trials.
Secondary Source
American Academy of Ophthalmology
Source Reference: Melamud A, et al “Gildeuretinol in geographic atrophy: Results from SAGA, a 2-year randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled gape” AAO 2024; Retina Subspecialty Day, Boring-Breaking Developments, Section I.
