Kiora Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KPRX) presented preliminary results from an ongoing clinical trial, showing that its investigational drug, KIO-301, has the potential to restore light perception in patients who are blind or living with ultra-low vision due to retinitis pigmentosa.
The results were presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting in New Orleans.
“We saw a marked improvement in functional measures, which correlate to neural imaging results that demonstrate increased visual cortex activity in the brain from baseline to two weeks after treatment,” Dr. Robert Casson, principal investigator of the study from the Royal Adelaide Hospital, said in a statement.
Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of rare, inherited diseases that involve a breakdown and loss of the photoreceptor cells in the retina. This progressive disease usually initially presents with difficulty seeing at night and a loss of peripheral vision, extending to tunnel vision and eventually, full blindness.
Eric Daniels, M.D. and chief development officer of Kiora, said early results demonstrate profound improvements in light perception and functional vision.
“As a confirmatory measure, and being an open label study, we reviewed preliminary observations from the first patients treated and felt it was important to share these early findings,” he added.
“The collective body of data supports our plan to escalate doses, complete enrollment, and report full results to the medical and patient communities later this year.”
