Allegro Plans for Phase III of Luminate

Allegro Ophthalmics is planning a 2018 Phase III trial of its lead integrin peptide therapy candidate Luminate for treatment of diabetic macular edema, president Vicken Karageozian, MD, said during the Company Showcase 3 session at OIS@AAO 2017. The Phase IIb DEL MAR study showed that sequential therapy of Luminate with Avastin (bevacizumab, Roche/Genentech) was superior to Avastin alone and combination therapy of Avastin-Luminate, leading to a 7.1-letter gain in best corrected visual acuity at 20 weeks versus 6.7 letters and 1.4 letters, respectively, Dr. Karageozian said. Sequential therapy involved a loading dose of Avastin followed by three Luminate injections at weeks 0, 1, 4, and 8, whereas Avastin-only therapy involved five injections at weeks 1, 4, 8, 12, and 16, and combination therapy involved six separate injections of Avastin and Luminate, each at weeks 1, 4, and 8.