AMD Gene Therapy Cleared for US Trial
A trial in China was initiated in December 2022 for patients with neovascular and wet age-related macular degeneration.
The FDA has granted investigational new drug (IND) application clearance to Skyline Therapeutics’ gene therapy SKG0106 for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and the company will soon be initiating a phase 1 clinical trial.1
SKG0106 is an intravitreally delivered recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) gene therapy that uses a novel AAV capsid and a transgene encoding anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein. In preclinical studies, the therapy has demonstrated efficacy in inhibiting intraocular neovascularization with long-lasting durability and a favorable safety profile with a single injection, which may translate to preventing choroidal or retinal neovascularization and provide relief of retinal edema and vascular leakage.
Skyline presented positive preclinical data on SKG0106 at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 26th Annual Meeting in May 2023, along with other gene therapy candidates from the company, including SKG0201, SKG0301, and SKG0402, which are being explored for spinal muscular atrophy, Pompe disease, and Fabry disease, respectively. The company also presented data on a novel cell line platform.
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SKG0106 is being explored for treating nAMD and other ophthalmic conditions. Skyline produced good manufacturing practice (GMP)-grade SKG0106 material with its proprietary capDRIVE®AAV manufacturing platform, which is designed to integrate cell line development, plasmid and viral vector process development, GMP production, and analytical development.
Skyline announced that SKG0106 was entering clinical trials for nAMD and wet AMD in China in December 2022.3 The therapy is being evaluated in an open-label, dose escalation study at the department of ophthalmology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. The study is primarily evaluating the safety, preliminary efficacy, immunogenicity and pharmacokinetic profile of a single intravitreal injection of SKG0106 intraocular solution in patients with nAMD.
