Express significantly improves the vision of patients with diabetic macular edema, and the Phase 2 clinical results of the innovative bicyclic peptide therapy are positive

▎Editor of WuXi AppTec's content team recently, Oxurion announced that THR-149, an investigational therapy jointly developed with Bicycle Therapeutics, has obtained positive results in a phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with diabetic macular edema (DME)
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THR-149 is an innovative plasma kallikrein (PKal) inhibitor based on bicyclic peptides
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It not only shows good safety and tolerability, but also can significantly improve the vision of patients
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Macular edema is fluid retention in the macula in the center of the retina
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The macula is the part of the retina responsible for sharp vision
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Fluid retention in the macula can cause swelling and thickening of the macula, distorting vision
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Diabetic retinopathy caused by diabetes is a common cause of macular edema
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Bicycle's technology platform can screen different types of bicyclic peptides
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They are composed of 9-15 amino acids, are not immunogenic, and can target targets that small molecule drugs cannot target
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THR-149 is a potential "first-in-class" plasma kallikrein inhibitor
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Studies have shown that the activation of plasma kallikrein can increase retinal vascular permeability, as well as the occurrence of microangioma and inflammation in patients with diabetic macular edema
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▲Introduction to THR-149 (picture source: Oxurion company official website) The results of this test show that all dose levels of THR-149 have good safety characteristics, and the severity of all adverse events is mild to moderate, not observed To inflammation
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The highest dose of THR-149 (0.
13 mg) produced the greatest improvement in the BCVA index for detecting the visual acuity of patients
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The highest dose increased the patient's BCVA by an average of 6.
1 letters at the 3rd month, of which 63% of patients got at least 5 letters of increase, 38% of patients got at least 10 letters of increase, and 13% of patients got at least 15 Letter promotion
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 ▲A visual acuity chart commonly used to test visual acuity (Image source: Jeff Dahl, public domain, Wikimedia commons) Oxurion CEO Tom Graney commented: "These data provide a proof of concept for multiple injections of THR-149 in DME patients
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we are very excited that, when receiving the highest dose of THR-149 treatment of these patients are currently no suitable treatment option, at least more than 60% of patients received a vision from baseline in overall improvement
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"Reference: [1] Positive Phase 2 Part A THR-149 data shared at the America Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Annual Scientific Meeting.
Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https:// positive-phase-2-part-thr-149-data-shared-america-society-retina-specialists-asrs-annual Disclaimer: WuXi AppTec's content team focuses on introducing global biomedical health research progress
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