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news.PanOptica has raised up to $45m in a Series B financing to fund the clinical program for its lead compound, PAN-90806, a pharmacologically unique small-molecule selective inhibitor of VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) signaling being investigated as a topical (eye drop) treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (neovascular AMD).
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New participant Novo Ventures and existing investor Third Rock Ventures co-led this round of financing, which also included founding investor SV Life Sciences.
Novo Ventures senior partner Dr Thomas Dyrberg noted that the company feels PanOptica has the right mix of proven medical, regulatory and commercial capabilities in its management team and expect that this compound will be a valuable addition to the AMD marketplace.
"We are excited to join PanOptica in its efforts to develop and commercialize PAN-90806," Dr Dyrberg added.
PanOptica also announced it has dosed the first patient in its Phase 1 clinical trial for PAN-90806 less than one month after the Company received FDA clearance for its investigational new drug (IND) application.
The Phase I trial is a two-month, open-label study in approximately 30 patients at 15 to 20 clinical sites around the United States. The trial is designed to assess the safety and tolerability of topical ocular PAN-90806 at three dosage strengths in patients with active, subfoveal choroidal neovascularization associated with neovascular AMD. PanOptica expects data readout by the end of 2014.
Anti-VEGF therapy is the standard of care for neovascular AMD, but existing treatments require regular physician-administered injections into the eye. An eye-drop formulation has the potential to lower the risk of injection-related complications and significantly reduce the burden on patients, their families and ophthalmology practices.
PAN-90806 is a potent and selective inhibitor of VEGF signaling, a growth factor pathway that plays a critical role in angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) and increased permeability (leakage from blood vessels), two pathological processes that contribute to the vision loss associated with neovascular AMD.
In pre-clinical research using ocular angiogenesis models, topically administered PAN-90806 suppressed the formation of abnormal new blood vessels. In non-clinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies topical administration of PAN-90806 achieved significant and sustained levels in the retina and choroid, and demonstrated the ability to suppress abnormal choroidal and retinal neovascularization in animal models, supporting further investigation of PAN-90806.