SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 31, 2007 -- Athenagen, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused in the area of neurovascular diseases, announced today the completion of a Phase I clinical study of ATG3, the company’s topical eye drop therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). ATG3, a proprietary ophthalmic formulation of mecamylamine, is an antagonist of the nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptor pathway that mediates angiogenesis. Inhibition of this pathway, which was discovered at Stanford by Athenagen’s founding scientists, also down regulates vascular endothelial-derived growth factor (VEGF) dependent angiogenesis. Studies in animal models have demonstrated excellent penetration of the proprietary ATG3 formulation to the retina and choroid following eye drop application.
