QLT Inc. (TSX:QLT) is expanding clinical trials of one of its ocular drugs to include patients suffering from another type of degenerative eye disease.
The initial target for its drug QLT091001 has been Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), which is an inherited, progressive retinal degenerative disease that leads to eye dysfunction and blindness.
Studies will now include patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a hereditary retinal disease that has similar clinical features to LCA.
There are at least 300,000 RP patients worldwide.
Both diseases result from genetic mutations of enzymes or proteins required in the biochemistry of vision.
QLT091001, which is taken orally, acts as a synthetic replacement for retinoids, chemical compounds that are closely related chemically to vitamin A.
“We continue to enroll LCA patients in the trial, with a total of seven patients currently treated or under treatment,” said QLT president and CEO Bob Butchofsky in a release.
The company expects to treat the first RP patient in the coming weeks.
Up to 24 patients diagnosed with LCA or RP will be enrolled in QLT’s phase 1b study, which is testing the drug’s safety and dosing.
QLT posted a US$1-million loss in the second quarter of 2010 but, as BIV reported in July, a restructured deal with partner Novartis has been bearing fruit as the drug maker collects more revenue from the sale of its lead product, Visudyne (See “QLT revenue improves but profit and sales down ” – BIV Business Today; July 27).
The company is holding a conference call on November 3 to review its third-quarter results.
QLT’s share price range in the past week: between $5.60 and $5.70; 52-week high: $6.80; 52-week low: $3.53.