CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aviceda Therapeutics, a private biotech company focused on developing the next generation immuno-modulators by harnessing the power of glycobiology to modulate the innate immune system and alleviate chronic, non-resolving inflammation, today announced their upcoming oral and poster presentations at the 2023 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual meeting in New Orleans, LA., April 23-27, 2023. Detailed results from each of these three studies will be reported at the conference.
“We are excited to present our data at ARVO this year. We are committed to developing breakthrough therapeutics, beginning with our lead ophthalmic asset, AVD-104, for geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and will demonstrate the potential of glyco-immunology to lead to the first treatment that truly addresses the underlying pathobiology of this devastating blinding disease by attacking activated macrophages and microglia, while also inhibiting complement activation. We look forward to sharing our results with the retina community as we quickly work to bring AVD-104 to our patients with our impending first-in-human clinical trials,” said Tarek S. Hassan, MD, Chief Development Officer of Aviceda.
“AVD-104 targets the direct cause of GA due to AMD, activated macrophages that phagocytose retinal cells. Blocking complement alone removes a stimulus for these cells which slows down but does not stop this cellular process. AVD-104 directly stops activated macrophages, while also inhibiting the complement pathway, akin to letting the foot off the gas pedal while applying the brakes at the same time. The dual mechanism of action of AVD-104 has the potential to dramatically inhibit or stop the growth of GA completely in patients with AMD,” said Michael Tolentino, MD, Chief Technology Officer of Aviceda.
“I am honored to present this paper on a novel, potentially breakthrough dual-mechanism intravitreal therapy for GA associated with AMD that may significantly improve upon current single-mechanism complement-based treatments at slowing down the progression of this disease,” said Baruch Kuppermann, MD, PhD, Steinert Endowed Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology School of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine.
Oral Presentation Details:
Modulation of Macrophages and Complement Dysfunction in Nonexudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration Utilizing a Sialic-acid Coated Nanoparticle, Baruch Kuppermann, MD, PhD.
Scientific Poster Details:
Targeting Self-Recognition Pattern Receptors on Retina Immune Cells with an Engineered Glycan-coated Nanoparticle as a Novel Therapy for Nonexudative AMD, Diyan Patel, MS.
Modulation of Retinal Inflammatory Macrophages by Sialic-Acid Coated Nanoparticles as Novel mechanism for Nonexudative AMD Treatment, Anitha Krishnan, PhD.
About Aviceda Therapeutics and AVD-104
Aviceda is a private biotechnology company located in Cambridge, MA with a proprietary nano-technology HALOS™ platform and an IND-ready ophthalmic lead product for geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AVD-104 is an intravitreal nanoparticle molecule with a unique dual mechanism of action for the treatment of GA through its modulation of critical inflammatory pathways: 1) Direct inhibition of the activity of damaging phagocytic macrophages and repolarization of activated macrophages to their resolution state, and 2) Inhibition of complement cascade amplification. AVD-104 has demonstrated robust in-vitro/vivo efficacy with inhibition of both inflammatory & complement pathways and the potential for every 4-6-month dosing. Outstanding safety has been demonstrated in multiple animal models, including non-human primates, in which there were no signs of intra-ocular inflammation. In addition, AVD-104 has demonstrated equivalent prevention of neovascularization compared to aflibercept (Eylea) in a well-established ocular CNV model.
Along with AVD-104, Aviceda has a broad pipeline of products in development in ophthalmology and other therapeutic areas such as neurology, oncology, fibrosis, and immunology.
