ASP2767 for Glaucoma

Open-angle glaucoma is the most common type of glaucoma, a disease that damages the nerves in the eye and can lead to vision loss. Current treatments include eye drops, laser treatment, and surgery that help lower eye pressure. However, they do not work for everyone, and the disease may continue to worsen over time. Researchers are looking for better ways to treat open-angle glaucoma.

This is an early development study of ASP2767 in people with open-angle glaucoma. In this study, ASP2767 will be given to humans for the first time. ASP2767 is a type of treatment called gene therapy. Gene therapy uses a tool called a vector. In this study a harmless virus is used as the vector. The vector delivers genes into specific parts of the body like the eyes.

Once in the eyes these genes help nerve cells in the retina make proteins. These proteins are designed to protect the nerves in the eyes and may help slow down or prevent vision loss.

The main aims of the study are to check the safety of ASP2767 in people with open-angle glaucoma, how well they tolerate it, and to find the highest dose of ASP2767 people can safely receive. In addition, the study will also look at the effect of ASP2767 on vision in people with open-angle glaucoma.

The study has 2 phases. In both phases of the study, ASP2767 will be given as a single injection into one eye only.

In phase 1, small groups of people with open-angle glaucoma will receive ASP2767 starting with lower doses and increasing to higher doses in later groups. The people in the study will also receive prophylactic medicines which will help reduce the risk of inflammation after receiving the ASP2767 injection. Phase 1 is an open-label study. This means that people in the study and the researchers will know which treatment people are getting. Any medical problems people have at each dose level in this study will be recorded. This will help find the highest dose of ASP2767 that people can safely receive, which will also be used in phase 2.

In phase 2, another larger group of people with open-angle glaucoma will be randomly placed in 1 of 3 groups of equal size. This means each person will have an equal chance of being placed in any of the 3 groups. They will receive either the highest dose of ASP2767 that people safely received in phase 1, or a slightly lower dose of ASP2767, or a sham injection. A sham injection is a procedure that mimics the injection but does not deliver ASP2767 into the eye. To reduce the risk of inflammation due to the injection, people in the study will also receive a prophylactic medicine or placebo depending on the group they are in. The placebo will look like the prophylactic medicine and will be given in a similar way but will not have any active medicine in it. Researchers use sham injections and placebo to make sure any effect they see in people who take ASP2767 is actually caused by the drug. Phase 2 is a double-masked study, meaning neither the people in the study, nor the researchers will know who is given which treatment.

All the people in phase 1 and phase 2 will be followed up for about 1 year after receiving the treatment. After receiving their ASP2767 injection, people will visit the clinic on certain days to have health checks. They will also have their vision checked using different eye tests and will give regular blood and urine samples.