iCo Therapeutics Announces CMO Invited to Present at International Ocular Conference
February 27, 2008
VANCOUVER, Canada— iCo Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V: ICO) announced today that Dr. Peter Hnik, iCo’s Chief Medical Officer, has been invited to give a presentation discussing iCo-007 at the 7th International Symposium on Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ISOPT) in Budapest, Hungary (http://www.kenes.com/isopt/). Dr. Hnik’s presentation, entitled, “iCo-007, a VEGF “+” Agent, for the Potential Treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema and Diabetic Retinopathy”, will take place on March 2nd, 2008.
Designed and discovered by ISIS Pharmaceuticals, iCo-007 is a second-generation antisense inhibitor targeting c-Raf kinase mRNA for the treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) and Diabetic Retinopathy. iCo licensed the worldwide exclusive rights to all therapeutic applications of iCo-007 from ISIS in 2005.
“The invitation to such an influential conference is not only a validation of iCo-007 and its clinical progress, but shows the value of a key opinion leader group and CMO with expertise in ophthalmology”, said Andrew Rae, iCo’s President & CEO.
About iCo-007
iCo-007 is expected to decrease swelling in the retina and related visual impairment by decreasing the signaling of multiple growth factors, including VEGF, IGF, bFGF, EPO and HGF that signal through the c-Raf kinase / MAP kinase pathway. iCo-007 is currently in a open label, dose escalating Phase I clinical trial in DME patients. The primary endpoint of the trial is safety, with visual acuity and measures of retinal thickness serving as secondary endpoints.
iCo-007 may also be a potential treatment for certain oncology indications, as c-Raf kinase is the predominant Raf isoform responsible for regulating cellular growth in ovarian cancer.
About Diabetic Macular Edema
There are currently no approved therapeutics for DME, the leading cause of blindness in working age adults. DME currently affects about 1.6 million people in the U.S. alone, a number that is expected to grow as Diabetes is forecast to increase by almost 50% in the US by 2025.
