Nanoscope Therapeutics Wins 'Best of Show' Award at AAO Eyecelerator 2023
Nanoscope Therapeutics was awarded the 'Best of Show in Retina' award at this year's American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Eyecelerator conference held in San Francisco on Thursday, November 2, 2023.
During the conference, Samuel Barone, MD, Nanoscope's chief medical officer, delivered a presentation titled "Pioneering a New Wave of Optogenetic Therapeutics for Vision Restoration." He unveiled clinical results from the company's optogenetic therapy, MCO-010, which targets inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Stargardt disease in a gene mutation agnostic fashion.
MCO-010, developed by Nanoscope Therapeutics co-founders Samarendra Mohanty, PhD, and Sulagna Bhattacharya, offers the potential to treat a multitude of ocular diseases by restoring light sensitivity to the retina and enhancing vision in patients with progressive and permanent photoreceptor and outer retinal degeneration.
Dr. Barone shared positive efficacy and safety outcomes from RESTORE randomized controlled trial (RP) and STARLIGHT phase 2 trial (for Stargardt disease), where MCO-010 was administered through a single intravitreal injection. Notable results included a -0.34 logMAR mean change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) for RP patients in RESTORE at the 52-week mark, a clinically meaningful improvement. Furthermore, 89% (16/18) of patients improved in multi-luminance Y-mobility or shape discrimination functional tests and 100% (18/18) of patients experienced clinically meaningful improvements in either BCVA or multi-luminance Y-mobility or shape discrimination, according to Nanoscope.
Similarly, individuals with Stargardt disease benefited from MCO-010 treatment. STARLIGHT patients exhibited a mean improvement of 5.5 ETDRS letters in BCVA and 13 ETDRS letters with a wearable magnifier 48 weeks after MCO-010 treatment. Additionally, there was a 2.63 dB improvement in mean defect measured by visual field perimetry along with patient-reported improvements in reading and color and contrast based on self-assessments using the Michigan Retinal Degeneration Questionnaire.
Upon receiving the award, Dr. Barone said, "The patient experience was front and center in my presentation, and I appreciate the acknowledgment of our work to make a difference in their lives."
Photo courtesy of Nanoscope. Nanoscope personnel, from left to right: Jared Stephens, Vice President, Strategy & Business Development, Samar Mohanty, President & Co-Founder, Sam Barone, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Sulagna Bhattacharya, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Michael Marquez, Chief Financial Officer.