Acucela Doses First Subject in Phase I Trial for Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Acucela Inc. has announced that it has dosed the first subject in a Phase I trial for its lead compound ACU-02. The single-site trial is enrolling healthy normal volunteers in a double-masked, placebo-controlled, single ascending-dose study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of ACU-02.

ACU-02 is an orally available small molecule being developed for the treatment of the dry form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

ACU-02 is a potent modulator of the visual cycle that acts by interrupting the pathophysiology of AMD by significantly reducing the accumulation of the retinal related toxic by-product A2E which is believed to damage retinal cells, thus leading to the decrease or loss of vision in AMD patients.