Neurotech is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of sight-saving therapeutics for chronic retinal diseases. Retinal diseases represent significant unmet medical needs for which new medical therapies are the largest market opportunity in ophthalmology. Neurotech’s lead product (NT-501) is in clinical development for the treatment of retinal degeneration, including retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an inherited disease leading to blindness, and geographic atrophy, a serious condition associated with atrophic (dry) macular degeneration.
Few effective treatments for these disorders are available to date. Recently, a number of protein molecules have demonstrated therapeutic activity for retinal disease in animal models as well as human clinical studies. In spite of their promise, their development has been hampered due to the absence of an acceptable means of sustained protein delivery to the retinal tissue. The blood-retina barrier prevents transport of these factors from the systemic circulation into the retina. Therapeutic agents can be injected directly into the eye, but this is an impractical approach if regular administration is required.
The NT-501 product employs Neurotech’s patented Encapsulated Cell Technology (ECT). ECT is a unique technology that allows for the sustained, long term delivery of therapeutic factors to the back of the eye. ECT implants consist of cells that have been genetically modified to produce a specific therapeutic protein that are encapsulated in a semi-permeable hollow fiber membrane. The cells continuously produce the therapeutic protein which diffuses out of the implant at the target site.
NT-501’s active therapeutic agent is ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), a protein that has demonstrated significant retinal protection in 13 different animal models of RP. Using its platform cell line and its proprietary encapsulation technology, Neurotech is able to produce ECT products that can deliver a wide variety of therapeutic agents for retinal disease treatment.
A Phase I clinical trial was recently completed in 10 patients diagnosed with RP at the National Eye Institute (NEI). ECT-mediated delivery of CNTF was found to be safe over a six month treatment period. In addition, unexpectedly, visual acuities showed an improved but variable trend from baseline. Neurotech is actively preparing for Phase II clinical trials.
Neurotech S.A is currently headquartered in Paris with an American subsidiary, Neurotech USA, Inc., located in Lincoln, Rhode Island. The Company is led by a team of experienced ophthalmology and biotech executives and has broad technological and manufacturing capabilities to support the development of ECT products. The Company is further supported in its scientific and business strategies by world experts in ophthalmology and by a group of sophisticated investors.
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