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DAEJEON, South Korea, May 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- PharmAbcine, Inc. ("PharmAbcine" or the "Company") (KOSDAQ: 208340), a clinical-stage public company developing next generation therapeutics to treat medical unmet needs, announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Wincal Biopharm, Inc. ("WincalBio"), gained agreat attention at the world's largest ophthalmology conference, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2024 (ARVO 2024), when they presented the preclinical data of the eye drop formulation.
WincalBio revealed that currently marketed therapeutic antibodies can be delivered within the eyes using their proprietary Ocular Penetration Carrier (OPC) screening platform, as shown by animal studies. This innovation suggests that non-invasive eye drops could potentially replace traditional intravitreal injection methods for treating eye diseases.
The OPC screening platform was developed to identify antibody-carrier complexes capable of delivering therapeutic agents into the back of the eye, such as the vitreous, retina, and choroid, without relying on needle injections. This allows patients to administer treatment conveniently at home using eye drops. The key to this technology is finding a matching carrier to each antibody to facilitate drug delivery inside the eye.
At ARVO 2024, WincalBio gave an oral presentation that their OPC screening platform enabled the delivery of the anti-VEGF treatments, Eylea (aflibercept) and Beovu (brolucizumab), as eye drops. In a laser-induced choroid neovascularization (CNV) mouse model, the OPC eye drop formulations demonstrated significant reduction in lesion size and vascular leakage, showing similar efficacy to the intravitreal injections. This breakthrough received huge interest and enthusiasm from the meeting participants.
Dr. Venice Chiueh, Project leader and Director at WincalBio, stated that "Developing eye drop formulations is crucial for enhancing patient convenience and reducing the patient's reluctance to receiving treatment. We are committed to achieving successful outcomes not only in upcoming primate efficacy studies but also in clinical trials."
Dr. TaeWeon Lee, Chief Scientific Officer at WincalBio, added, "These research results are expected to positively impact VC investment opportunities as well as corporate partnerships with biopharma companies with intravitreal therapeutics or planned launch of biosimilars. Our aim is to extend this innovative technology beyond the anti-VEGFantibodies to various eye disease treatments, allowing patients to receive moreconvenient and accessible care."