CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aviceda Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing novel glyco-immune therapeutics by harnessing the body’s natural immune system to modulate inflammation by using highly selective ligands designed to have maximum specificity towards target immune cells and diseases, announced today positive topline data of Part 1 of the Phase 2/3 SIGLEC trial for AVD-104 in patients with geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), showing positive safety and efficacy outcomes which were observed at 3 months after a single dose of AVD-104.
“We are excited to see signs of significant visual & functional improvement and rapid reduction in the rate of GA lesion growth with a positive overall safety profile following a single dose of AVD-104,” explained David Callanan, M.D., Aviceda’s Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President. “We look forward to initiating Part 2 of SIGLEC, in which we hope to demonstrate the capability of AVD-104 to provide a meaningful improvement over therapy that is only based in complement inhibition.”
“As a company overseeing the development of a novel disease-approach to GA therapy, we are encouraged by the outcomes of Part 1 of SIGLEC, and believe that AVD-104’s dual mechanism of action, which resolves both macrophage/microglial- and complement-mediated inflammation, may lead to a paradigm shift for the treatment of GA,” Mohamed Genead, M.D., Co-founder and CEO said. “In particular, we feel that putting the brakes on both the cellular and humoral drivers of disease progression in the junctional zone, the leading edge of GA, is critical for an effective, disease-modifying treatment for GA, and the results of Part 1 of SIGLEC provide evidence that AVD-104 is effective in this regard.”
SIGLEC is a two-part Phase 2/3 clinical trial based in the United States that is designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of intravitreal AVD-104 in patients with GA secondary to AMD. Part 1 of the trial, a multi-center, open-label safety and dose-escalation trial of 30 patients who received a single intravitreal injection of AVD-104 and were followed for 3 months, has now been completed.
All patients in Part 1 of the trial tolerated a single dose of AVD-104 at month 3, and no drug-related ocular or systemic severe adverse reactions were observed. A greater reduction in GA lesion progression at 3 months was seen when compared to historical standard-of-care outcomes. Significant best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) gains were observed after a single AVD-104 injection and were sustained at 3 months. Junctional zone hyperautofluorescence, an imaging biomarker of rapid disease progression, was independently graded from fundus autofluorescence imaging, and was notably decreased in eyes receiving therapeutic doses of AVD-104 during the study period.
Part 2 of the SIGLEC trial is a multi-center, double-masked, randomized, controlled trial that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of AVD-104 compared with an active comparator (avacincaptad pegol) for the treatment of GA secondary to AMD. It will enroll approximately 300 patients, who will be dosed for 12 months, with the opportunity to remain in the study for an additional 12 months. The primary endpoint will be the difference in growth rate of the GA area in treated patients versus active comparator at 12 months as measured by fundus autofluorescence. Numerous other visual functional and anatomic efficacy measures will also be explored and compared between AVD-104 and the active comparator.
Further information regarding the Phase 2/3 SIGLEC trial can be found HERE.
About Aviceda Therapeutics and AVD-104
Aviceda is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing novel glyco-immune therapeutics by harnessing the body’s natural immune system to modulate inflammation by using highly selective ligands designed to have maximum specificity towards target immune cells and diseases. Our lead clinical-stage ophthalmic candidate, AVD-104, was developed from our proprietary HALOS™ nanotechnology platform, is under investigation for the treatment of GA secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular edema. AVD-104 is a promising intravitreal glycan-coated nanoparticle with a dual mechanism of action that modulates critical inflammatory cellular and complement pathways through 1) direct inhibition of damaging phagocytic/inflammatory macrophages, resolution of neovascular VEGF-producing macrophages, and repolarization of activated microglia to their neuroprotective resolution state, and 2) inhibition of complement cascade amplification. Topline results from Part 1 of the Company’s Phase 2/3 SIGLEC trial, which is evaluating AVD-104 in patients with GA secondary to AMD, have been released. Part 2 of SIGLEC, which is a double-masked, randomized, active comparator trial, is actively enrolling patients, with topline data expected in 2024 and early 2025. Part 2 of SIGLEC will enroll approximately 300 patients across the US.
Along with AVD-104, Aviceda has a broad pipeline of products in development in ophthalmology and multiple other therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, neurology, and fibrosis.
