Opthea is developing a treatment for wet AMD, OPT-302, to be...

Opthea is developing a treatment for wet AMD, OPT-302, to be used as a combination therapy with existing treatments. OPT-302 targets proteins that cause blood vessels in the retina to grow and leak, leading to vision problems. Wet AMD is an age-related form of macular degeneration and although there is some hereditary component, the exact cause is unknown. There is a strong correlation with age – wet AMD is a leading cause of blindness in over 55s.

Phylogica is seeking to develop gene-disrupting therapies for inherited retinal diseases using a proprietary cell-penetrating peptide bound to an antisense oligonucleotide. It has yet to reveal which specific disease/diseases it is targeting. However, the information available and testing to date suggests to me that the company will likely target retinal dystrophies that have a specific, identifiable gene mutation, and likely something that qualifies as an orphan drug.

Therefore, I believe it is highly unlikely that there will be competition with Opthea’s pipeline, which is targeting wet AMD and Diabetic Macular Oedema.

Just my thoughts.