Accure Therapeutics Enrolls First Patient in Phase 2 Clinical Trial on Acute Optic Neuritis

Accure Therapeutics announced it has enrolled the first patient in its ACUITY phase 2 clinical trial in patients with acute optic neuritis (AON). A total of 36 patients will be enrolled in two randomized parallel groups. They will be followed for 6 months to measure and assess safety and preliminary signs of efficacy. Results are expected in the second half of 2022.

The ACUITY study is carried out within the neurology-opthalmology network of the Public University Hospital Group in Paris (APHP), with the leading site at La Pitié-Salpétrière hospital. The study is under the supervision of lead investigator Dr. Céline Louapre, from the Paris Brain Institute (Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM), and scientific advisor Dr. Sophie Bonnin, from the Department of Ophthalmology at La Pitié-Salpétrière. ICM, located at La Pitié-Salpetrière, brings patients, doctors and researchers together, with the aim of rapidly developing treatments for disorders of the nervous system and enabling patients to benefit from them as quickly as possible.

“This study is set to confirm the safety and tolerability of Accure’s candidate and to provide preliminary proof-of-efficacy—both as clinical and imaging evidenced by optical coherence tomography (OCT) of ACT-01 in patients living with inflammatory demyelinating diseases such as acute optic neuritis,” Dr. Celine Louapre said in a company news release. “These first efficacy results in patients will give us an estimate of the treatment effect and help us calculate the adequate sample size for the next clinical study.”

A total of 36 eligible subjects will be randomized within 10 days of the onset of AON (visual loss symptoms) to receive five intravenous infusions of ACT-01 (N=18) or placebo (N=18), over a 5-day period. As is the standard of care for AON, all patients will receive intravenous corticosteroid as concomitant therapy unless contra-indicated. Patients will be assessed by a neurologist and an ophthalmologist; clinically and with noninvasive routine imaging tests.

Preliminary efficacy of ACT-01 will be assessed over a 6 month period post onset of AON symptoms. By this time, almost all subjects are expected to have come to the end of  their natural recovery. Therefore this strategic timeline is used to compare the profiles of disease progression, and structural and functional outcomes between subjects in each treatment arm. For the majority of patients, thinning of the retinal layers in the affected eye occurs within the first 6 months of the onset of AON, as measured by the RNFL-retinal nerve fiber layer and the GCIPL – ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer, in an OCT scan.

“We are very excited to initiate this phase 2 study with our lead candidate ACT-01 in patients with acute inflammatory-demyelinating disorders,” Dr. Rossella Medori, CMO at Accure Therapeutics, said in the news release. “The results from the phase 2 study have the potential to serve as a solid foundation for expanding future pivotal clinical development of our first-in-class disease modifying drug candidate, to address the challenges of residual and accrued disability in other chronic neurodegenerative CNS disorders.”

Accure Therapeutics will host a webinar on Tuesday March 2, at 7:30 pm CET/1:30pm ET/10:30am PST. Expert speakers Prof. Shiv Saidha, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, US) and Prof. Fiona Costello, University of Calgary (Canada), will discuss acute optic neuritis. They will be covering the following:

• Acute Optic Neuritis (AON) is most often a prodrome (CIS) or a relapse during the course of MS
• AON is an excellent clinical development path into MS for neuroprotection
• Discussions of recent trials conducted in patients with Acute Optic Neuritis
• There will be an opportunity for a Q&A session after the webinar presentation 

To register and confirm your interest: Zoom registration URL