Valitor Presents Preclinical Data on its Long-acting Anti-VEGF Biologic in Development for Durable Treatment of Wet AMD at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting BERKELEY, Calif., April 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Valitor, a biotechnology company engineering better medicines to conquer drug limitations, today announced new data from VLTR-557, its long-acting anti-VEGF biologic in development for durable wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD)AMD) treatment. These data are being presented at the 2023 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting taking place April 23-27, 2023 in New Orleans, LA. The preclinical results demonstrated highly-localized and sustained drug exposure to ocular tissues and also confirmed the anti-VEGF bioactivity of VLTR-557. In addition, VLTR-557 exhibited high binding affinity to VEGF-A and remained stable under physiologic conditions for six months. Importantly, the initial formulations were well-tolerated. These data suggest that a single intravitreal (ITV) injection of VLTR-557 has potential to maintain clinical efficacy for more than six months. “These are exciting data, which demonstrate a highly differentiated profile compared to available AMDAMD treatments. Specifically, results show that a single administration of VLTR-557, our long-acting anti-VEGF biologic for AMDAMD, has the potential to maintain clinical efficacy with a standardized administration protocol of once every six months, which is longer than the current anti-VEGF biologics that require patient-specific dosing intervals,” said Wesley Jackson, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Valitor. “Current available AMDAMD treatments are limited by the need for more frequent injections and inconsistent patient-to-patient dosing protocols, which often leads to poor compliance and lower long-term efficacy. Our multivalent polymer technology, as demonstrated with VLTR-557, is designed to overcome these challenges by enabling long-acting results with reliable intravitreal durability and providing better treatment options for patients with AMDAMD.” Highlights from the VLTR-557 Poster Presentation Pharmacokinetics Overview
The half-life of VLTR-557 in the vitreous humor was 15.6 days, and its half-life in the other ocular tissues was approximately the same The retina/choroid tissues had the second highest concentration of VLTR-557, which was approximately one third of the concentration in the vitreous humor The serum concentration of VLTR-557 was approximately 10,000X lower than the vitreous humor concentration Changes in VLTR-557 concentration in systemic tissues were similar to those in the serum-level concentrations Pharmacodynamics Overview
VLTR-557 exhibited sub-picomolar affinity to VEGF-A, resulting in rapid attenuation of VEGF signaling in vitro VLTR-557 remained stable and maintained high binding affinity to VEGF for 6 months under physiological conditions The pilot formulations of VLTR-557 appeared to be tolerated in a repeat-dose preclinical model Poster Presentation Details
Valitor’s Multivalent Polymer (MVP) technology platform originated at U.C. Berkeley. The MVP platform is based on proprietary multi-valent biopolymers that are coupled with bioactive molecules. The biopolymers and bioactive molecules are interchangeable, which enables Valitor to assemble novel macromolecular entities that are engineered to overcome a multitude of specific drug design challenges for their target indications. Unlike other methods of drug modification that are designed to modify individual drug properties, Valitor’s novel approach allows for independent control of multiple drug attributes, including pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties, improved target engagement/tissue localization, therapeutic durability, and improved safety. In research studies, Valitor’s novel compounds have shown >1,000-fold increases in potency, up to 10-fold increases in tissue retention, and excellent preclinical safety. Investor and Media Contacts
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