Acuity initiates phase II trial of wet AMD drug

This is the first-ever phase II program for a small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapy, an innovative approach based on the powerful gene silencing technology of RNA interference (RNAi). Acuity has also released successful results from its phase I study showing that Cand5 appears to be safe and well tolerated.

Dr Jonathan Prenner of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and an investigator for Acuity’s phase I study said, “Cand5’s novel RNAi mechanism has the potential to provide important benefits in the treatment of this disabling disease, and we look forward to the results of the phase II efficacy studies now underway.”

Cand5’s RNAi mechanism silences the genes that promote the overgrowth of blood vessels that lead to vision loss in wet AMD by shutting down the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which has been shown to be the central stimulus in the development of wet AMD.

By stopping production of VEGF at the source, Cand5 is expected to have efficacy advantages over other types of therapies for wet AMD, which work by inhibiting VEGF only after it has already been produced in the eye. Acuity’s RNAi mechanism also has the potential for safety and administration advantages compared to other approaches.