Oxford BioMedica
PLC and Institute of Ophthalmology New Research Collaboration
Oxford
BioMedica plc (LSE:OXB) ("BioMedica") and the Institute
of Ophthalmology in London announced today a research and
development collaboration to develop novel products to treat
the most common causes of blindness in the developed world.
Age-related
macular degeneration ('AMD') and diabetic retinopathy ('DR')
affect approximately 30 million people in the developed world
and the market potential is in excess of $1.0 billion. In
both AMD and DR, blindness is caused by the defective formation
of new blood vessels in the retina. In AMD, new blood vessels
extend from the inner retina beyond the inner limiting membrane
which leads to haemorrhaging and distortion of the specific
area of the retinal surface responsible for sharp, central
vision. In DR, a similar process occurs however, the new blood
vessels appear on the vitreous surface of the retina causing
excessive accumulation of fluid or 'oedema', which blurs vision
and causes retinal haemorrhage. Currently, the only available
treatments for AMD and DR are limited and tend to only slow
the diseases' progression.
Over the
past year, BioMedica has been evaluating its lentiviral gene
transfer platform and its gene switch technology, based on
the Hypoxia Response Element ('HRE'), for use in the treatment
of eye diseases. LentiVector® has been shown to be uniquely
suited for delivering genes to the eye and the HRE is ideally
suited to control genes involved in formation of blood vessels
- the angiogenic response - the underlying cause of AMD and
DR. The collaboration with the Institute of Ophthalmology
is designed to develop new gene-based products for treatment
of AMD and DR that act by blocking inappropriate blood vessel
growth. If successful the products could move into clinical
development within a year.
The Institute
of Ophthalmology has the strongest multidisciplinary scientific
resource of any such eye centre in the world. The Institute's
world leading programme of research into the mechanisms and
treatment of eye disease draws on the tremendous clinical
resource of Moorfields Eye Hospital and with this provides
an unparalleled focus for the rapid development of new treatments.
The Institute of Ophthalmology was recently awarded UK government
funding under the Wellcome Trust sponsored JIF mechanism to
create a centre for the identification and development of
novel treatment strategies for ocular disease.
Commenting
on the collaboration BioMedica's chief executive, Prof. Alan
Kingsman said: "We are delighted to be working alongside
one of the world's leading ophthalmology centres. This programme
has been in development for some time now, and has been extremely
successful. It is now ready to move forward with the development
of novel products that address this very large market."
Background to age-related macular degeneration ('AMD') and
diabetic retinopathy ('DR')
AMD is
now one of the major debilitating diseases of the ageing population.
About one in six people between the ages of 55 and 64 will
develop AMD while one in four between 64 and 74 will be affected.
One in three over the age of 75 will be affected. Each year
1.2 million of the estimated 12 million Americans with macular
degeneration will suffer severe central vision loss. Each
year 200,000 individuals will lose all central vision in one
or both eyes due to AMD.
DR is
the commonest cause of visual loss in people of working age
and the predominant cause of economic loss due to visual impairment.
Over 40% of people with insulin dependant and 20% of people
with non-insulin dependent diabetes eventually succumb to
diabetic retinopathy. In the US alone, where an estimated
16 million people have either type I or II diabetes, about
600,000 have retinopathy. Direct and indirect costs of diabetic
retinopathy totalled more than $ 2.8 billion in 1996. 2% of
insulin dependent diabetics are totally blind, many of them
in the younger age group.
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