Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that the Company’s lead product candidate, NT-501, substantially slowed the loss of vision in a Phase 2 clinical trial in subjects with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) involving geographic atrophy (GA). GA is a condition that destroys sharp central vision, often resulting in serious vision loss to one or both eyes. There are currently no approved treatments for dry AMD. In the study, the high dose of NT-501 stabilized best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 12-months, with 96.3% (p=0.078) of treated-patients losing fewer than three lines of vision, or 15 letters, versus 75% of the patients in the sham-treatment group.

NT-501 is an intraocular implant that consists of human cells that have been genetically modified to secrete ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF). CNTF is delivered directly to the back of the eye in a controlled, continuous basis by means of the Company’s proprietary Encapsulated Cell Technology (ECT) platform, thereby bypassing the blood-retinal barrier and overcoming a major obstacle in the treatment of retinal disease.

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