- Optigo wins People’s Choice Award at the recent Eyecelerator meeting in Park City for proprietary drug anchoring, potential to transform intravitreal drug delivery
- Preclinical data demonstrates sustained efficacy and safety for six months or more following a single injection
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Optigo Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering long-acting, bi-functional intravitreal biologics, today announced that it has been awarded the People’s Choice Award at Eyecelerator 2025 in Park City, Utah.
Concurrently, the company presented positive preclinical data at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2025 Annual Meeting, supporting the potential of its proprietary anti-VEGF molecules to achieve dosing intervals of six months or longer in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), and retinal vein occlusion (RVO).
“Our bi-functional intravitreal biologics are designed to fundamentally address the limitations of current anti-VEGF therapies by dramatically reducing the dosing frequency,” said Houman Hemmati, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer and Co-founder of Optigo Bio. “The recognition from industry peers at Eyecelerator, along with the compelling preclinical data we shared at ARVO, underscore both the innovation and real-world potential of our platform.”
The company’s proprietary biologics are fusion proteins that combine derisked therapeutics such as aflibercept with an albumin or hyaluronan anchoring domain. In VEGF challenge animal models, these bifunctional molecules demonstrate 2-3x longer half-life compared to aflibercept alone, were not proinflammatory, and were well tolerated with a favorable safety profile.
Dr. David Boyer, retina specialist at Retina Vitreous Associates Medical Group, commented: “I’m particularly excited about the data Optigo Bio presented at ARVO. The favorable preclinical safety profile combined with their anchoring technology, which enhances half-life and efficacy, represents a promising new treatment option for patients with nAMD and other retinal neovascular diseases.”
Optigo’s Eyecelerator presentation— “Developing Breakthrough Therapies to Restore Vision”—was delivered by Dr. Hemmati during the Retina TKI and Drug Delivery Showcase and was well-received by attendees for its bold, yet evidence-backed approach to solving one of the biggest challenges of chronic intravitreal therapy.
Ali Ardakani, CEO and Co-founder of Optigo Bio, added: “While anti-VEGF therapies have significantly reduced blindness globally, real-world outcomes are limited by the burdensome injection schedule. Our platform addresses this bottleneck directly by offering biologics that deliver real efficacy with fewer injections.”
Optigo’s technology is well-positioned to capture a significant portion of the growing $14B anti-VEGF market by improving patient adherence and outcomes.
Optigo continues to actively engage with global pharmaceutical companies, biotech partners, and investors to accelerate development and bring this transformative technology to market.
Interested parties can view data and updates at:
www.optigobio.com
About Optigo Biotherapeutics
Optigo Biotherapeutics is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company developing a proprietary platform that anchors intravitreal biologics to endogenous proteins like albumin and hyaluronan, significantly prolonging half-life and therapeutic activity. The company’s lead program is a long-acting, bi-functional anti-VEGF therapy aimed at reducing injection burden in blinding retinal diseases such as nAMD, DME, and RVO. Optigo’s modular platform has broad applicability across retinal biologics requiring extended duration.
Learn more at www.optigobio.com
Media Contact:
Kellie Shuck
682.553.7283
kellie@rhmminc.com
