Benzinga | Oct 7, 2021 07:04AM EDT

Ocuphire Announces Publications Featuring The Ref-1 Protein, A Transcription Factor Regulator, As A Novel Therapeutic Target For The Treatment Of Neovascular Retinal Diseases

Ocuphire Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUP), a clinical-stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for refractive and retinal eye disorders, today announced the publication of a review article titled "Inhibition of APE1/Ref-1 for Neovascular Eye Disease: From Biology to Therapy" within the Special Issue "Advances in Molecular Activity of Potential Drugs" of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. APE1/Ref-1 was also featured as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration in a second published review article titled "Potential Therapeutic Candidates for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)" in Cells September 2021 issue. Ocuphire is developing a novel oral Ref-1 inhibitor, APX3330, for the treatment of retinal disease. APX3330 is currently being evaluated in an ongoing, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked, multi-center Phase 2 trial (ZETA-1) in the U.S. for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy with data expected in 2022.

The International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal providing an advanced forum for biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, molecular biophysics, molecular medicine, and all aspects of molecular research in chemistry. The article by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine can be accessed online at the following link: Inhibition of APE1/Ref-1 for Neovascular Eye Disease: From Biology to Therapy

"There are over 70 published articles on the APE1/Ref-1 target across multiple diseases, along with 10 peer-reviewed articles focused on how novel inhibitors of APE1/Ref-1 such as APX3330 may have the potential to improve disease outcomes for retinal patients," said Mark R. Kelley, PhD, Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Glick Eye Institute at Indiana University School of Medicine and member of Ocuphire's Medical Advisory Board. "The article also describes how patients taking the currently approved pharmacological treatments for retinal and choroidal neovascularization, including intravitreally administered biologic therapies targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway, may experience worsened eye disease, indicating that multiple pathways are involved in ocular angiogenesis. Therefore, the development of novel therapeutics, such as oral therapies, that inhibit APE1/Ref-1 protein, deactivating pro-angiogenic and pro-inflammatory pathways, could represent a promising approach towards treating neovascular eye disease, especially in diabetic retinopathy."