Syncona Ltd, a leading healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding global leaders in life science, announces that its portfolio company, Gyroscope Therapeutics (Gyroscope), an ophthalmology company developing genetically defined therapies for retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), has commenced dosing in a Phase I/II trial in dry AMD
Syncona Ltd, a leading healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding global leaders in life science, announces that its portfolio company, Gyroscope Therapeutics (Gyroscope), an ophthalmology company developing genetically defined therapies for retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), has commenced dosing in a Phase I/II trial in dry AMD.
Gyroscope was founded to explore the convergence of several recent advancements made in the understanding of eye disease, particularly the impact of the complement system, the genetic basis of AMD, and gene therapy as a mode of treatment delivery. The first patient in the trial was successfully dosed in January. The procedure was carried out at the John Radcliffe Hospital by Prof. Robert MacLaren, Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford, with the support of the National Institute of Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.
Chris Hollowood, Chief Investment Officer of Syncona and Chairman of Gyroscope, said: “The evolution of Gyroscope into a clinical stage company is a great milestone and an example of Syncona’s expertise in harnessing ‘Third Wave’ technologies to develop therapies for serious diseases. Gene therapies are at the forefront of a new generation of treatments for retinal diseases and we are excited by the potential of Gyroscope’s novel approach to address one of the world’s biggest causes of blindness.”
Soraya Bekkali, Chief Executive of Gyroscope Therapeutics, said: “Our goal, at Gyroscope, is to advance new genetically defined therapies for the treatment of debilitating eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. We are very pleased that the first patient has been treated in this trial and believe this is a great step forward in developing a therapy to treat Dry AMD, a complex disease for which there are no current available therapies.”
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Copies of this press release and other corporate information can be found on the company website at: www.synconaltd.com
About Syncona:
Syncona is a leading FTSE250 healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding global leaders in life science. Our vision is to deliver transformational treatments to patients in truly innovative areas of healthcare while generating superior returns for shareholders.
We seek to partner with the best, brightest and most ambitious minds in science to build globally competitive businesses.
We take a long-term view, underpinned by a deep pool of capital, and are established leaders in gene and cell therapy. We focus on delivering dramatic efficacy for patients in areas of high unmet need.
About Gyroscope Therapeutics
Gyroscope Therapeutics is developing cutting edge, genetically defined therapies for the treatment of eye diseases linked to an unbalanced complement system, a part of the immune system. The Company was founded to capitalise on a convergence of advancements made in the understanding of the complement system’s impact on eye disease, the genetic basis of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and gene therapy as a mode of treatment delivery.
The Company’s lead product, GT005, is a novel retinal gene therapy aiming at delivering a targeted, one off treatment for the progressive visual impairment caused by dry AMD in patients by locally modulating complement activity. Gyroscope is building a pipeline of products for blinding eye diseases linked to the complement system.
Gyroscope is a private company headquartered in Stevenage, UK and is supported by experts in complement biology, AMD and gene therapy. Investors include Syncona Ltd. and Cambridge Enterprise. Further information can be found at gyroscopetx.com.
About AMD
Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye condition which damages photoreceptors in the macula (central retina), leading to progressive loss of central vision. AMD affects over 35 million patients globally. There are two types of AMD: wet AMD and dry AMD. Dry AMD is the most common form and gradually reduces central vision as retina atrophy expands, causing a growing blank patch in the centre of vision over time. People with advanced atrophic AMD, also called geographic atrophy, report increasing difficulties in reading, driving, recognizing faces, and activities in dim or low light. By contrast with wet AMD, the atrophic form of AMD represents a significant unmet medical need, as there are currently no approved therapies for this blinding condition.
