BUSINESS WIRE
JERSEY CITY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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:
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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.
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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.
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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 http://www.luxbio.com.