Molecular Partners comments on Allergan’s progress in Phase IIa Retinal Disease Trial using anti-VEGF DARPin
Molecular Partners AG commented on the recent progress with its anti-VEGF DARPin (AGN-150998/MP0112), which is being developed in partnership with Allergan for ocular indications. Allergan announced last week at their R&D day that the compound successfully completed phase IIa development. AGN-150998/MP0112 was shown to be safe and well tolerated, with no dose limiting toxicity, after a single administration. Further, preliminary efficacy results from this study suggest a dosing interval of up to 3 months. Based on these results, Allergan has initiated a double-masked Phase IIb study comparing two high doses of AGN-150998/MP0112 with Lucentis, the current standard of care.
Michael Stumpp, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer of Molecular Partners, commented: “We are very pleased with the rapid progress of the studies performed by Allergan and the safety profile of the anti-VEGF DARPin. The fact that no dose-limiting adverse effects were observed, even at the highest doses, underlines the potential of the product. The observed treatment effects on macular edema were potentially meaningful due to the fact that the study was conducted in anti-VEGF refractory patients, where other treatments provide little, if any, therapeutic benefit. We are excited to partner with Allergan in developing this new treatment for retinal disease.”
AGN-150998/MP0112 is an anti-VEGF DARPin, a small therapeutic protein that is potent, stable, and soluble with favorable pharmacokinetics. The possibility for achieving a sustained therapeutic effect without the need for initial loading doses would be a meaningful benefit for patients, physicians and payers.
“These results reported by Allergan not only underline the initial safety profile of the DARPins in patients, but also show that our platform allows us to build novel drug candidates with the potential for significant differentiation over standard of care for true patient value,“ said Christian Zahnd, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Molecular Partners. “We are also very pleased to see the high commitment of Allergan for the anti-VEGF DARPin and the quality of the collaboration in which we were able to hand over the program to Allergan and achieve these results earlier than expected.”
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