Akari Therapeutics Presents New Preclinical Data Highlighting Potential of Long-Acting PASylated Nomacopan to Treat Retinal Diseases, Including Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Uveitis
NEW YORK and LONDON, Feb. 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Akari Therapeutics, Plc (Nasdaq: AKTX), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative therapeutics to treat orphan autoimmune and inflammatory diseases where complement (C5) and/or leukotriene (LTB4) systems are implicated, announced today the publication of new data in the journal CELLS. The paper, entitled “Immune-Mediated Retinal Vasculitis in Posterior Uveitis and Experimental Models: The Leukotriene (LT)B4-VEGF Axis,” highlights the importance of the LTB4-VEGF axis in the development of sight-threatening retinal inflammation. 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. In addition, PAS-nomacopan was significantly more effective in reducing retinal inflammation than the anti-VEGF antibody.