Benzinga | Feb 25, 2021 01:41PM EST

Akari Therapeutics' PASylated Nomacopan Shows Promising Action In Animal Studies

* Akari Therapeutics Plc (NASDAQ: AKTX) announces new data from PASylated nomacopan published in the journal CELLS.

* In a non-infectious allergic uveitis animal model, PAS-nomacopan reduced VEGF by more than 50% compared to saline control, equivalent to the inhibition caused by an anti-VEGF antibody.

* Separately, Akari recently completed a preclinical study in which intravitreally injected PAS-nomacopan was compared to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's (NASDAQ: REGN) Eyelea, an FDA-approved treatment for wet AMD.

* PAS-nomacopan injected once during the 16-day treatment period was equivalent to Eyelea in reducing neo-vascularisation.

* The company says that PAS-nomacopan was significantly more effective in reducing retinal inflammation than the anti-VEGF antibody.

* PAS-nomacopan's optimal dose interval to be used in clinical trials is yet to be determined.

* Price Action: AKTX shares are 0.58% higher at $3.48 in market trading hours on the last check Thursday.