The peer-reviewed journal Ophthalmology and Therapy has published a scientific review supporting the scientific rationale for sozinibercept (OPT-302) as a potential treatment for neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).
The publication, Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) C and D signaling pathways as potential targets for the treatment of neovascular (wet) AMD,1 reviews the growing body of evidence that in retinal diseases, such as nAMD, the pathophysiology is broader than dysregulation or overproduction of VEGF-A.
While therapeutic approaches in nAMD have mostly focussed on targeting VEGF-A signalling, research has shown that VEGF-C and VEGF-D signalling pathways are also important to the pathogenesis of retinal diseases. This review highlights the important therapeutic advances and remaining unmet needs for improved therapies targeting additional mechanisms beyond VEGF-A. It also discusses the role of VEGF-C and VEGF-D signalling involvement in both health and disease, as well as strategies for targeting VEGF-C/D signalling pathways to address one of the major remaining unmet needs in nAMD: better visual outcomes.
“This review underpins sozinibercept’s potential as a novel, first-in-class VEGF-C/D ‘trap’ to prevent blood vessel growth and vascular leakage in the retina and deliver superior visual outcomes in wet AMD patients when combined with standard-of-care anti-VEGF-A therapies,” said Frederic Guerard, PharmD, Chief Executive Officer of Opthea.
This review underpins sozinibercept’s potential as a novel, first-in-class VEGF-C/D ‘trap’ to prevent blood vessel growth and vascular leakage in the retina…
“Our fully enrolled sozinibercept Phase 3 clinical program in wet AMD is designed to assess the safety and superior efficacy of sozinibercept in combination with standard-of-care anti-VEGF-A therapies compared to standard-of-care alone. We expect to report topline data for the COAST trial in early Q2 and for the ShORe trial in mid CY 2025.”
Neovascular AMD remains the leading cause of vision loss in the elderly, impacting about 3.5 million people in the United States and Europe alone. The unmet medical need in nAMD is significant, with many patients failing to achieve optimal vision outcomes despite treatment with anti-VEGF-A therapies.
Reference
- Leitch, IM, Gerometta, M, Eichenbaum, D et al. Vascular endothelial growth factor c and d signaling pathways as potential targets for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a narrative review. Ophthalmol Ther 13, 1857–1875 (2024). doi: 10.1007/s40123-024-00973-4.