LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spinogenix, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering first-in-class therapeutics that restore synapses to improve the lives of patients worldwide, today announced that Dr. Robert N. Weinreb, MD, has joined its science advisory board (SAB). The addition of Dr. Weinreb, Chair and Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology at University of California San Diego, Director of the Shiley Eye Institute, brings world-leading clinical and research expertise in glaucoma to Spinogenix as the company plans to launch a new program to evaluate SPG302 as a potential neuroprotective therapeutic for glaucoma.
Commenting on the Spinogenix glaucoma program, and his addition to the Company’s SAB, Dr. Weinreb noted, “Glaucoma-related vision loss has a profound impact on countless individuals worldwide. I am excited by the prospects of synaptic regeneration in glaucoma and the opportunity to act as a science advisor to Spinogenix as they begin advancing SPG302 for the treatment of glaucoma.”
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness, affecting approximately 80 million people world-wide and over 3 million people in the United States. Vision loss in glaucoma stems from damage to the optic nerve and, eventually, the death of neurons in the retina (retinal ganglion cells, RGCs) whose axons give rise to the optic nerve as they transmit visual information from the eye to the brain. Currently, there is no cure for glaucoma. Existing treatments primarily focus on limiting disease progression using medications or surgical procedures that reduce intraocular pressure. Limitations of current glaucoma therapies have prompted the search for new, neuroprotective and regenerative strategies.
Spinogenix is advancing SPG302 as a novel therapeutic approach for glaucoma. SPG302 is a clinical stage, orally administered small molecule therapeutic with the unique ability to rapidly regenerate glutamatergic synapses. These synapses, a key feature of retinal circuitry linking RGCs to light-sensing neurons in the retina, degenerate early in the course of glaucoma and other retinal neuropathies. By restoring glutamatergic synapses in the retina, SPG302 may offer a new way to help preserve or regain visual function in retinal diseases. In preclinical studies using a mouse model of glaucoma, SPG302 prevented glaucoma-associated changes in synaptic markers, while also preserving RGCs and their axons in the optic nerve. In addition, SPG302 partially restored retinal function. These results, which are being prepared for publication, support the idea that targeting synapse loss in glaucoma is neuroprotective and provide a foundation for clinical development of SPG302 in the disease.
Dr. Stella Sarraf, CEO and Founder of Spinogenix, added, “The addition of Dr. Weinreb to our science advisory board comes at an important moment as we look to launch our glaucoma program. Our encouraging preclinical data have paved the way for the advancement of SPG302 as a novel therapeutic approach that could improve the lives of patients and families affected by glaucoma.”
About SPG302
SPG302 is a once-a-day pill being developed as a regenerative treatment for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases with the unique ability to restore synapses, the key connections between neurons that allow people to think, plan, remember, and control motor functions. The synaptic regenerative activity of SPG302 represents a first-in-class approach to treating these diseases and has the potential to reverse declines in cognitive, respiratory, motor and sensory functions. SPG302 has been granted U.S. FDA Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of ALS. Additional information on the clinical trials evaluating SPG302 can be found on ClinicalTrials.gov (ALS: NCT05882695; Alzheimer’s Disease: NCT06427668; schizophrenia: NCT06442462). SPG302 has received preclinical support from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.
About Spinogenix
Spinogenix is dedicated to developing transformative therapeutics for conditions involving the loss or dysfunction of synapses. Our lead clinical-stage synaptic regenerative candidate is a first-in-class therapeutic designed to reverse synapse loss and improve cognitive, motor and sensory functions in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and glaucoma. In parallel, we are also developing a synaptic function therapeutic designed to improve behavior in Fragile X Syndrome. More information on Spinogenix can be found at www.spinogenix.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Spinogenix Contact
Media Contact
Kristin Politi, Ph.D.
LifeSci Communications
kpoliti@lifescicomms.com
(646) 876-4783
