Leuven, 18 March 2016 – ThromboGenics NV (Euronext Brussels: THR), an integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative treatments for back of the eye disease, will host an “R&D Investor Meeting” in London today focused on diabetic eye disease.
The meeting, which will be webcast live and accessible through ThromboGenic’s website, will feature clinical insights and expert views on diabetic eye disease, current treatments and key areas of unmet medical needs, provided by international experts:
• Prof Dr Reinier Schlingemann, Principal Investigator at the Medical Retina Unit and Ocular Angiogenesis Group, Department Of Ophthalmology at the AMC in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and
• Prof Dr Alan Stitt, Centre Director of the Centre for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast, Ireland.
ThromboGenics CEO, Dr Patrik De Haes and senior members of ThromboGenics’ management team will provide an update of the Company’s strategy and its diabetic eye disease drug development portfolio, which is built around four novel disease modifying programs.
Prof Dr Reinier Schlingemann, commenting on his presentation today said, “Diabetic retinopathy is a complex disease which progresses through a number of stages each of which requires its own specific treatment approach. There is a clear need for improved treatment options for patients with diabetic eye disease, both proliferative diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema, and I look forward to providing today’s audience with some insights into the most promising approaches to treating these significant sight threatening conditions.”
Prof Dr Alan Stitt, added, “Our greater understanding of the underlying causes of diabetic eye disease has led to the development of a number of pre-clinical models that provide the ability to generate new approaches to treating diabetic retinopathy and diabetic edema by acting on a number of novel targets. In my presentation I will outline the disease insights that these pre-clinical models have provided and how they are key tools in generating the new disease modifying drugs for the treatment of diabetic eye disease.”
Dr Patrik De Haes, CEO of ThromboGenics, commenting on today’s announcement, “Today is an important milestone for ThromboGenics as this IR event will allow us for the first time to update investors on the significant progress we have made in building an exciting drug development pipeline focused on diabetic eye disease. We believe that this novel pipeline will allow us to address a number of the most pressing unmet medical needs patients with diabetic eye disease encounter and to create important value for shareholders.”
Today’s event will take place from 14:00 to 16:30 GMT at the offices of Citigate Dewe Rogerson’s offices, 3 London Wall Buildings , London EC2M 5SY. The meeting will not contain any price sensitive information.
To reserve a place, please email thrombogenics@citigatedr.co.uk .
For further information please contact:
ThromboGenics
Wouter Piepers,
Global Head of Corporate Communications & IR
+32 16 75 13 10 / +32 478 33 56 32
wouter.piepers@thrombogenics.com
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
David Dible/Sylvie Berrebi
Tel: +44 20 7282 2867 / +44 20 7282 1052
david.dible@citigatedr.co.uk
sylvie.berrebi@citigatedr.co.uk
About Diabetic Retinopathy
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2014, 9% of adults 18 years and older had diabetes (WHO, 2015) World Health Organization (WHO) (2015). Diabetes Fact sheet N°312.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs312/en/ 21 May 2015..
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of visual disability and blindness among professionally active adults (Cunha-Vaz, 1998; Fong et al., 1999). Worldwide, the prevalence rate of vision-threatening PDR or DME was estimated to be 11.72% of the diabetic population in 2010 (Yau et al., 2012).
DR progresses from mild, non-proliferative to more severe or even proliferative stages. As DR progresses, there is a gradual closure of retinal vessels leading to impaired perfusion and retinal ischemia. When this progresses beyond certain thresholds, severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) is diagnosed.
The more advanced stage, PDR, is characterized by the development of new blood vessels at the inner surface of the retina as a result of widespread retinal ischemia. These new vessels are prone to bleed, resulting in vitreous hemorrhage. These new vessels in later stages undergo fibrosis and contraction, which may lead to epiretinal membrane formation, vitreoretinal traction bands, retinal tears and tractional retinal detachments.
PDR is considered high risk when the new vessels are accompanied by vitreous hemorrhage, or when they cover a significant area of the optic disc, even in the absence of vitreous hemorrhage, patients with high risk PDR are at high risk of severe vision loss. The current treatment standard for PDR patients is laser photocoagulation (PRP) therapy. Lately, an increasing role for anti-VEGF treatments has been suggested.
PDR patients may still progress to severe vision loss or even complete vision loss resulting from persistent or recurrent disease, even when receiving recurrent pan-retinal photocoagulation (PRP). In addition, PRP may cause complications such as visual field loss or worsening of macular edema. Bailey CC, Sparrow JM, Grey RH, Cheng H (1999). The National Diabetic Retinopathy Laser Treatment Audit. III. Clinical outcomes. Eye (Lond) 13 (Pt 2): 151-159. Fong DS, Ferris FL 3rd, Davis MD, Chew EY (1999). Causes of severe visual loss in the early treatment diabetic retinopathy study: ETDRS report no. 24. Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study Research Group. Am J Ophthalmol. 127 (2): 137-141.
About ThromboGenics
ThromboGenics is an integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative treatments for back of the eye disease, with a focus on diabetic eye disease.
ThromboGenics pioneered the new drug category of pharmacological vitreolysis with JETREA® (ocriplasmin) which is now approved for the treatment of vitreomacular traction in over 54 countries worldwide. In the US, ThromboGenics is commercializing JETREA® via its subsidiary ThromboGenics, Inc. Alcon, a division of Novartis, commercializes JETREA® outside the United States.
ThromboGenics is conducting the CIRCLE study, a Phase II clinical trial to assess ocriplasmin as a potential treatment for diabetic retinopathy. In addition the Company is evaluating several other drug candidates that could potentially deliver a number of next generation treatments for diabetic eye disease.
ThromboGenics is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and is listed on the NYSE Euronext Brussels exchange under the symbol THR. More information is available at www.thrombogenics.com
