Lux Biosciences Reports on Pivotal Programs in Uveitis
and Corneal Transplant Rejection at ARVO Meeting
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (April 24, 2008):
Lux Biosciences, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company specialized in
the field of ophthalmic diseases, announced today that the company’s two
lead product candidates, LX211 for the treatment of uveitis and LX201 for
the prevention of corneal transplant rejection, will be highlighted in
multiple presentations at the 2008 annual meeting of the Association for
Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). The international meeting is
being held from April 27 – May 1 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“We have made major progress in the recruitment of both the LUMINATE and
LUCIDA programs and are likely
to reach important recruitment milestones in mid-year. We credit our
investigators for this timely enrollment,
and appreciate their strong interest and high motivation,” said Ulrich Grau,
Ph.D., Lux Biosciences President and Chief Executive Officer. “Both programs
address high medical needs, and are potentially important firsts:
LX211 is the first steroid sparing agent that is being developed towards
approval in sight-threatening
non-infectious uveitis, and LX201 is the first drug under development for
the prevention of rejections in
cornea transplant patients.”
LX211, the oral form of a next generation calcineurin inhibitor (voclosporin),
which Lux Biosciences licensed for ophthalmic indications from Isotechnika,
Inc. in 2006, is being featured in a poster presentation on April 28. The
poster describes the design of the ongoing pivotal trial program in
different types of sight-threatening non-infectious uveitis, by clinical
investigator J.T. Rosenbaum, M.D. from the Casey Eye Institute-OHSU,
Portland, Oregon, on behalf of the international LUMINATE Study Group. Also
to be presented by Lux Biosciences and collaborators from the National Eye
Institute is a poster on April 30 demonstrating LX211’s ability to suppress
anti-CD3 activated human T cell proliferation and to successfully treat
experimental autoimmune uveitis in rats.
On April 28 Alan Sugar, MD, from the University of Michigan-Kellogg Eye
Center will give an oral presentation on behalf of the international LUCIDA
Study Group discussing the design of the pivotal trial program for LX201.
LX201 is a novel cyclosporine A-eluting, episcleral implant, and is being
studied for the prevention of corneal allograft rejection or graft failure
in patients at high risk. The LUCIDA studies are the first prospective,
randomized, placebo-controlled trials in this indication. LX201 is also the
subject of a poster presentation on April 28 by researchers from Lux
Biosciences and collaborators at North Carolina State University, the
University of Missouri, Sinclair Research Center and Contract Kinetica
detailing the results of a preclinical safety and pharmacokinetic study that
support the use of the implant in cornea transplant patients.
About Lux Biosciences
Lux Biosciences, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company focused on
ophthalmic diseases. The company has a staged product portfolio of
potentially first-in-class therapies distinguished by their short-term path
to commercialization and potential to generate high revenue growth. The
portfolio includes:
Two Phase 3
clinical-stage projects including: i) LX211, the oral formulation of a
next-generation calcineurin inhibitor (voclosporin) developed as steroid
sparing therapy for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis, and ii)
LX201, a silicone matrix ocular (episcleral) implant that steadily
releases therapeutic doses of cyclosporine A locally to the eye for the
prevention of rejection in cornea transplant recipients. Both the
LUMINATE pivotal clinical program for LX211 for the treatment of uveitis,
as well as the LUCIDA pivotal clinical program with LX201 for the
prevention of corneal transplant rejection were initiated in early 2007
and include sites in North America, Europe and India.
LX214, a
novel topical eye drop formulation currently in IND-enabling studies
with a target date for entry into the clinic in mid 2008. LX214 is based
on Lux’ proprietary next-generation calcineurin inhibitor and is
targeted towards other chronic inflammatory diseases of the eye, most
notably dry eye syndrome, blepharitis and atopic keratoconjunctivitis.
Several
earlier stage projects based on proprietary product-enabling bio-erodible
polymer technologies that facilitate targeted and sustained delivery of
molecules to the eye.
For more
information on Lux Biosciences, please visit the company’s website at
www.luxbio.com.