Skip to content
Biotechnology, Medical Health Aged Care

PolyActiva Showcases Promising Clinical Data Highlighting its Polymer Technology’s Potential to Transform Glaucoma Care

Brandon Capital 3 mins read

Key presentations at Eyecelerator in Chicago and AusBiotechInvest Conference

  • PolyActiva is developing biodegradable ocular implants that provide sustained drug delivery, with its lead product targeting glaucoma, the second most common cause of irreversible blindness.

  • Lead candidate, PA5108, met safety and efficacy endpoints in its Phase 2 clinical trial and demonstrated repeat dosing capability.

  • Patients received continuous therapy for over 48 weeks after receiving their first and second implants at week 0 and week 21.

  • PolyActiva is scaling up its manufacturing capabilities to support the commencement of late-stage clinical trials in early 2025 with trials to be conducted under an IND submission to the FDA.

Melbourne, Australia, 30 October 2024: PolyActiva, a clinical stage ophthalmology company, presented new clinical data from its Phase 2 clinical trial (LATA-CS102) for its novel glaucoma treatment technology, PA5108, at the Eyecelerator Conference in conjunction with the American Academy of Ophthalmology Conference in Chicago on 17 October 2024 and at AusBiotechInvest on 29 October 2024. 

The trial met its efficacy and safety endpoints, representing a significant step forward in the company's vision to provide long-term, reliable drug delivery for glaucoma patients.

Seventeen participants were recruited to receive two PA5108 Ocular Implants, 21 weeks apart and fifteen participants have now reached 48 weeks on study.  PolyActiva reported:

  • Statistically significant intraocular pressure (IOP) changes from baseline were observed for each mean diurnal measurement at Weeks 12, 21, 33 and 42 (p<0.0001); 

  • Clinically meaningful IOP reductions at 8am over 48 weeks were observed, with mean IOP reductions between 26 and 35%; 

  • 94% of participants did not require additional drop therapy over the 48-week treatment period; and

  • The PA5108 implant to date has been found to be safe and generally well tolerated by trial participants and no adverse impact was observed on corneal endothelium following repeat dosing of PA5108 and 48 weeks of monitoring.

PolyActiva’s proprietary implant is designed to address the long-standing challenge of poor patient adherence with traditional eye drop therapy by ensuring accurate dosing over an extended period, potentially mitigating the risk of blindness associated with glaucoma progression.

"Glaucoma treatments today rely heavily on patient-administered eye drops, but adherence to this regimen is notoriously poor, with studies showing that 40-90% of patients stop using their drops correctly after just one year," says Vanessa Waddell, PolyActiva CEO. 

The implant, constructed from a biodegradable polymer, is designed for sustained drug delivery, and unlike other treatments on the market, PolyActiva’s implant rapidly degrades once the drug is released, allowing for repeat dosing. With over 80 million glaucoma patients worldwide, the global demand for improved treatments is substantial, and excitingly, PolyActiva's technology can potentially deliver therapies for other ocular diseases.  

PolyActiva has developed proprietary manufacturing processes and PA5108 has been successfully transferred to FDA-approved CDMOs. Starting materials and intermediates are produced at GMP we are on track to achieve commercial scale, says Vanessa Waddell, PolyActiva CEO. 

On the back of these promising results PolyActiva is preparing for a phase 2b clinical trial of PA5108.


About us:

About PolyActiva

PolyActiva is an innovative clinical-stage ophthalmology company with a unique proprietary polymeric prodrug technology that enables site-specific, precise, and controlled drug delivery to the eye. Our mission is to become a leader in ophthalmic medicine by providing unique biodegradable implants with sustained drug delivery to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

About PolyActiva’s Phase 2a clinical study (LATA-CS102)

A phase 2a open label dose escalation study of the Latanoprost Acid Ocular Implant in patients with mild to moderate glaucoma has been conducted in Australia and New Zealand.  The primary objectives of the study are to demonstrate the minimum effective dose of implant to achieve a ≥ 20% reduction in intraocular pressure at 12 weeks and to assess the safety and tolerability of the implant.  Three subject cohorts were recruited, a low dose cohort (n=10), a mid-dose cohort (n=10) and a repeat dose cohort (n=17).  A high dose cohort was not recruited after the efficacy targets were achieved with the low and mid dose implants.  All participants are required to washout of their IOP lowering medication prior to receiving their implant.  Participants in the repeat dose cohort receive their first low dose implant at Day 0 of the study and second within 7 days of their week 21 assessment.  Participants are monitored on study until their implant biodegrades and their IOP returns to levels requiring further medication. All participants recruited to the repeat dose cohort have now reached 48 weeks on study.  Three participants remain on follow-up after week 48 with all other participants having completed the study.

 


Contact details:

Media Contact: brandoncapital@iconagency.com.au

Media

More from this category

  • Medical Health Aged Care, Women
  • 30/10/2024
  • 07:30
Monash University

Improving the contraceptive knowledge of young women from rural and remote areas

Improving contraceptive knowledge among young women from rural and remote areas of Australia is the focus of a study by the SPHERE Centre of Research Excellence at Monash University. Women living in rural and remote areas of Australia are 1.4 times more likely to experience an unintended pregnancy than those living in urban areas, and adolescent pregnancies are similarly more common. These disparities are likely due to parallel factors, including more limited access to sexual and reproductive health information and services in rural and remote communities. Funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Health and Aged Care, the EXTEND-PREFER study…

  • Government Federal, Medical Health Aged Care
  • 30/10/2024
  • 06:00
Catholic Health Australia

Private surgeries under threat by removal of sealants from Prescribed List

Catholic Health Australia (CHA) is urging the federal government to review its decision to remove fibrin sealants from the Prescribed List on November 1 until alternative funding arrangements are in place, warning it could severely disrupt essential surgical procedures and increase costs for patients and hospitals. Fibrin sealants are crucial in managing bleeding risks during surgery, and play a key role in ensuring patient safety, reducing complications, and preserving scarce blood supplies. Having these crucial products on the Prescribed List ensures that private health insurers must pay benefits, keeping profit motives out of patient care. Hospitals that are already grappling…

  • Medical Health Aged Care
  • 30/10/2024
  • 04:55
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Annie

Reforms to empower nurse practitioners and endorsed midwives

From this Friday, November 1, landmark laws come into effect across Australia, removing barriers, which for too long, prevented nurse practitioners (NPs) and endorsed midwives from prescribing medicines under the PBS and providing services under Medicare because of the outdated requirement for a ‘collaborative arrangement’ with a medical practitioner. The Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Annie Butler, said the ANMF, along with other national nursing and midwifery peak bodies, had worked tirelessly over the past 14 years to advocate for the removal of the restrictive collaborative arrangement, in an effort to ensure people get better…

Media Outreach made fast, easy, simple.

Feature your press release on Medianet's News Hub every time you distribute with Medianet. Pay per release or save with a subscription.