Science

Channeling the potential of mitochondrial stabilizer therapy

Tapping into multiple pathways of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in ophthalmology

Neovascular (wet) and nonexudative (dry) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects more than 15 million Americans—more than cataracts and glaucoma combined—with “dry” AMD making up 85%-90% of those cases.1 The current standard of care for wet AMD are the well-established anti-VEGF treatments. Very recently several therapies have become available for the treatment of late stage dry macular degeneration (geographic atrophy) that slow down that progression of disease but cannot restore lost vision. There is currently no treatment for intermediate dry AMD which affects up to 40% of the dry AMD patient population. Allegro’s risuteganib treatment is one of the few therapies targeting dry AMD that has shown the ability to restore lost vision in a US phase 2a study.

Clinically significant dry eye disease (DED) affects an estimated 5 million Americans over the age of 50, and the results of a recent Gallup poll showed that more than 26 million Americans suffer from dry eyes, with that number expected to increase to more than 29 million in the next ten years. The symptoms include scratchy, stinging or burning sensations, and pain or redness in the eye. This frequently blurs vision, reduces reading ability, and produces light sensitivity in many patients.2 Currently available treatments simply don’t adequately meet the needs of patients.

We believe that integration of an upstream, broad-spectrum approach such as mitochondrial stabilizer therapy has the potential to revolutionize the treatment paradigm for intermediate dry AMD and DED, thereby improving vision and quality of life for patients around the world.

  1. American Macular Degeneration Foundation. What is Macular Degeneration? https://www.macular.org/what-macular-degeneration. Accessed May 21, 2019.
  2. R Adler, MD. Dry eye syndrome: Symptoms and causes. https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/dryeye-syndrome.htm. Accessed April 23, 2019. Published April, 2019.
  3. Singer MA, Kermany DS, Waters J, et al. F1000Res. 2016;5.