US FDA Gives Green Light to Trial of Inflammasome’s Sustained-Release Implant for GA

Inflammasome Therapeutics announced Nov. 13 that the US FDA had cleared a Phase I/II trial for its inflammasome inhibitor in a sustained-release ocular implant for geographic atrophy (GA), the advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration.

The Newton, Massachusetts, company is developing a series of molecules—dubbed Kamuvudines—to inhibit inflammasomes and has additional drug candidates, potentially dosed orally, for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

In the GA trial, patients will receive a tiny sustained-release implant that releases its drug directly into the back of the eye for three months after injection. If given early enough, the company said, the treatment could arrest the process that causes GA while most of the retina is still healthy.