Biopharmaceutical company Innovent Biologics Inc (HKEX:01801) reported on Wednesday the start of treatment of the first patient with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) in a Phase I clinical trial of IBI302.

AMD, a disease which results in progressive worsening of vision in the centre of the visual field of the macular retina, is one of the leading causes of severe vision loss and blindness in people aged 50 and above in the developed world. It can be divided into dry AMD and wet AMD according to clinical manifestations and pathobiology.

IBI302 is a novel recombinant fully human bi-specific fusion protein targeting both vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF) and complement proteins. VEGF plays a fundamental role in choroidal neovascularization. The N-arm can bind to the VEGF family to block VEGF-mediated signaling pathways, inhibit vascular epithelium proliferation and angiogenesis and reduce vascular leakage. The C-arm can inhibit the activation of the classic and alternative pathways of complement through the specific binding of complement components 3b and 4b and reduce the inflammatory response mediated by complement proteins.

The Phase I study of IBI302 is an open-label, single-centre, dose escalation clinical trial that will evaluate the safety and tolerability of IBI302 in a single intravitreal injection in patients with wet AMD.