Sylentis Presented New Results for the Treatment of Age Associated Macular Degeneration

MADRID, May 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Within the framework of the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), that has been held from the 29^th of April to the 3^rd of May in Honolulu (Hawaii), Sylentis, pharmaceutical company belonging to the PharmaMar Group (MCE: PHM), has presented the preclinical results of a new molecule (SYL1801), indicated for the treatment of age associated macular degeneration and which is administered topically.

This meeting which is held annually has the purpose of sharing the latest development in the understanding of the cutting-edge clinical science. In this context, Sylentis has participated with the presentation of the abstract Topical administration of siRNA targeting NRARP as a new treatment for choroidal neovascularization (Posterboard Number: 2634 - A0139)ⁱ, in which SYL1801 is evaluated for its role upon NRARP, a protein that controls the formation of new blood cells in the retina, that presents processes of neovascularization, the growth of new blood vessels.

As Ana Isabel Jiménez, Director of R&D at Sylentis, said, "macular degeneration is the primary cause of loss of vision in people over 50 years of age[ii]. The current treatments involve intravitreal infections, so at Sylentis we are trying to develop products that are of a topical use for this illness, therefore, in addition to the treatment, we would also be improving the quality of life of our patients."

Sylentis is a pioneer in RNAi research, and is one of the few in Europe that applies this technology to the field of ophthalmology. It also continues with its research on new therapies for ophthalmological and inflammatory illnesses.

About RNA interference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXvSitR5184

About Sylentis
Sylentis, a company of PharmaMar (MCE: PHM), is a biotechnology company fully owned that develops innovative therapies harnessing the technology of post-transcriptional gene silencing or RNA interference (RNAi). Sylentis has developed an approach to efficiently design RNAi-based therapeutics that can be used to silence numerous disease-causing genes. We currently have a robust therapeutic program in ophthalmology with two candidates under development in Phase II  and III studies for glaucoma (bamosiran)[iii] and ocular pain (SYL1001)[iv], respectively. Sylentis is also developing new products for the treatment of several eye diseases such as ocular allergies and retina diseases. To know more about us, please visit us at www.sylentis.com.

[i] Ruz V, Paneda C, Martinez T, Monteiro S, Guerra A, Gonzalez V and Jimenez AI. Topical administration of siRNA targeting NRARP as a new treatment for choroidal neovascularization. ARVO meeting abstracts. 2018. 2634 - A0139. Disponible en: https://www.arvo.org/annual-meeting/program/online-planner/

[ii] Jonas, J.B., C.M.G. Cheung, and S. Panda-Jonas, Updates on the Epidemiology of Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila), 2017. 6(6): p. 493-497.

[iii] Moreno-Montañes J, Sádaba B, Ruz V, Gomez-Guiu A, Zarranz J, Gonzalez MV, Pañeda C, Jimenez AI. Phase I Clinical Trial of SYL040012, A Small Interfering RNA Targeting β-Adrenergic Receptor 2, for Lowering Intraocular Pressure. Mol Ther. 2014, 22(1):226-32

[iv] https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03108664?term=helix+sylentis&rank=1 (April, 2018)

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SOURCE PharmaMar

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