SAN DIEGO, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Shiyin Yee of TargeGen presented preclinical data on TG100801 at The 6th International Symposium on Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics in Berlin, Germany (3/30/06 - 4/2/06). Dr. Yee’s presentation titled “A NOVEL FIRST-IN-CLASS, NON-INVASIVELY DELIVERED, MULTI-TARGETED KINASE INHIBITOR FOR THE TREATMENT OF AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD), PROLIFERATIVE DIABETIC RETINOPATHY (PDR) AND DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA (DME)” included data generated by TargeGen, Inc. and external collaborators in the laboratories of Dr. Martin Friedlander and Dr. Peter Campochiaro at The Scripps Research Institute and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine respectively. The data presented demonstrated that topical administration of the prodrug, TG100801 significantly reduced VEGF mediated retinal leakage and choroidal neovascularization in relevant pre-clinical models of macular degeneration. In cell based assays, following topical instillation, TG100572, the active drug produced by conversion of TG100801 as it penetrates the eye, was shown to induce apoptosis in proliferating endothelial cells responsible for neovasculariztion and to inhibit inflammatory-mediated processes as measured by endotoxin-induced nitric oxide release in vitro. These attributes suggest that TG100801 may be effective in treating several major back of the eye diseases in humans.
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Wet macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in adults. AMD, PDR and DME are collectively characterized by VEGF mediated retinal leakage, angiogenesis, and an underlying inflammatory process. TargeGen’s TG100801 is designed to inhibit a select group of kinases involved in those three processes. Currently approved drug based therapy for macular degeneration requires repeated injection into the eye. TG100801 has been designed for topical (eye drop) application. TargeGen believes that TG100801 may be able to offer superior efficacy by virtue of its broader mechanism of action, greater patient convenience because of the non-invasive method of delivery and may reduce or eliminate those safety risks associated with repeated injection into the human eye. TargeGen further believes TG100801 could be used as a stand alone agent for the treatment and prophylaxis of back of the eye diseases and may also be used in combination with approved products. TargeGen currently plans to initiate human clinical trials with TG100801 prior to the end of 2006.
About TargeGen, Inc.
TargeGen, Inc. is a privately held vascular biology focused biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, CA. TargeGen is developing novel small molecule therapeutics to treat diseases that involve edema, angiogenesis and inflammation as key elements of disease pathology by selectively targeting certain kinases associated with the formation and repair of blood vessels, vascular permeability (edema) and inflammation.
TargeGen, which initiated operations in 2002, has raised more than $70M from top tier venture capital sources. Key investors include Forward Ventures, Enterprise Partners, William Blair Capital Partners/Chicago Growth Partners, CDP Capital Technology Ventures/Vantage Point Venture Partners, BB BIOTECH VENTURES, Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management LLC, China Development Industrial Bank (CDIB), A.M. Pappas & Associates and other investors.
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CONTACT: Peter G. Ulrich, President & CEO of TargeGen, Inc.,+1-858-678-0760, or fax, +1-858-678-0762, info@targegen.com
Web site: http://www.targegen.com/
