Sitting at the AMD nexus

Potentia Pharmaceuticals Inc. last week licensed exclusive worldwide rights to the Compstatin class of C3 inhibitors from the University of Pennsylvania. The compounds, which are in preclinical development, represent a new approach to treating age-related macular degeneration, and according to their inventor, could give an earlier and more sustained treatment option at a lower manufacturing cost compared to some other compounds in the AMD space.

The C3 protein is at the confluence of all three known pathways of the complement system, an enzymatic cascade of the immune system that can lead to local inflammation, tissue damage and up-regulation of angiogenic factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). ...