Laureate Pharma (Laureate) and Iconic Therapeutics (Iconic) have completed the manufacturing of the first GMP lot of hI-con1, a recombinant Fc-Factor VII fusion protein.
hI-con1 is a recombinant protein intended to specifically attack and destroy pathological blood vessels (PBVs) with no effect on normal blood vessels. Since wet AMD is characterised by the invasion of PBVs into the eye, a drug that destroys these blood vessels could be very useful in treatment of this disease, said the company.
In addition, hI-con1 is thought to act differently from other wet AMD treatments, which reduce the effects of pathological blood vessel invasion into the eye but do not appear to kill those blood vessels. In studies with mice and pigs, a single injection of hI-con1 into the eye resulted in dramatic reduction of pathological blood vessels.
Robert Broeze, president and CEO of Laureate, said: “We are very excited that Iconic now has material to test this new therapy for patients with macular degeneration and other diseases. This is a testimonial to our strong partnership with Iconic and our expertise in working with fusion proteins.”