Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the main cause of blindness in elderly people in Western countries with a prevalence of 30% in individuals over seventy years of age. The degeneration of the macula (the central portion of the retina) causes loss of vision in the center of the visual field. The macula is used for reading, driving, recognizing faces or color and usually for fine, detailed work. In wet AMD, the presence of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the retina causes abnormal blood vessels to grow beneath the macula. These vessels leak blood and fluid into the macula that damage photoreceptor cells. Wet AMD often progresses rapidly and can cause substantial loss of central vision. To learn more about wet AMD, please visit the Foundation Fighting Blindness website.

Clinical studies in wet AMD
More than 1.2 million individuals in the United States have been diagnosed with wet AMD. Current treatment options involve routine injections of anti-VEGF proteins into the back of the eye. Neurotech believes potential new therapeutic options designed to continually deliver treatment to the back of the eye would be a much welcome addition to the armamentarium for wet AMD. Neurotech plans to initiate Phase 1 studies of NT-503, a structural VEGF antagonist, in wet AMD outside the US in 2009. NT-503 consists of encapsulated human cells genetically modified to deliver a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) structural antagonist that inhibits the function of the VEGF protein.