Molecular Partners AG: Actavis confirms timeline for the start of phase III development of abicipar Montag, 11. Mai 2015 - 13:09

About abicipar

Abicipar is a long-acting mono-DARPinä that inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) and is currently under investigation for the treatment of two major causes of blindness worldwide: neovascular, or wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME). Abicipar has the potential to require less frequent injections into the eye than the current anti-VEGF standards of care, while providing equal or better improvements in vision, both seen as mayor patient benefits in these indications. Abicipar was exclusively licensed to Allergan/Actavis from Molecular Partners in May 2011.

About wet AMD

Wet AMD is a progressive chronic disease of the central retina and is a leading cause of blindness globally with a total of 1.3 million wet AMD cases in the US and 1.5 million cases in Europe. It is estimated that 196 million people worldwide will be affected by age-related macular degeneration by 2020, increasing to 288 million by 2040. USD 255 billion is the estimated annual cost of visual impairment due to AMD to health care systems worldwide. Patients with moderate AMD suffer a 40% decrease in quality of life, similar to patients with heart disease or on kidney dialysis.

About Molecular Partners in ophthalmology

Molecular Partners has a strong focus on creating differentiated therapeutics for retinal diseases, including wet AMD and diabetic macular edema (DME), two diseases leading to loss of vision. Together with Actavis, Molecular Partners plans to advance several programs, including multi-VEGF/PDGF DARPinä, a product that inhibits both VEGF and PDGF, through preclinical and clinical development to commercial launch.

About Molecular Partners AG

Molecular Partners is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is developing a new powerful class of therapies known as DARPins™. DARPins™ are potent, specific and versatile small protein therapies, which have the potential to offer benefits over conventional monoclonal antibodies or other currently available protein therapeutics. The DARPinä technology has the potential to offer a “multi-benefit” approach to treatment, which enables DARPinsä to target multiple pathways, or multiple epitopes on a single target to achieve substantial patient benefit. DARPins™ have the potential to advance modern medicine and significantly improve the treatment of serious diseases, including cancer and sight-threatening disorders.

Molecular Partners has four compounds in various stages of clinical and preclinical development and several more in the research stage, with a current focus on ophthalmology and oncology. The company has ongoing research and development partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies, including Actavis, Roche and Janssen and is backed by established biotech investors. For more information regarding Molecular Partners, go to: www.molecularpartners.com.

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