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Surrozen Presents Data Supporting Potential of SZN-413 for the Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting
Preclinical data suggest that SZN-413 can simultaneously address retinal non-perfusion and leakage in blood vessels in retinal vascular diseases SOUTH SAN
About this update from Surrozen, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Preclinical data suggest that SZN-413 can simultaneously address retinal non-perfusion and leakage in blood vessels in retinal vascular diseases\nSOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Surrozen, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRZN), a company pioneering targeted therapeutics that selectively activate the Wnt pathway for tissue repair and regeneration, announced today that a poster supporting the potential of SZN-413 for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy was presented on May 1 at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting in Denver. “The data presented at the ARVO annual meeting represent important developments in our retinal vasculature research program for our novel Wnt mimetic, SZN-413,” said Craig Parker, CEO of Surrozen. “The preclinical data are encouraging and suggest that SZN-413 offers a new therapeutic strategy for retinal vascular diseases such as diabetic macular edema and diabeticretinopathy.“ Norrin/Fzd4 mediated Wnt signaling is known to play a critical role in retinal vascular development and vessel function in humans and rodent models. Retinal vascular diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema, can lead to vision loss from the loss of normal retinal vasculature and development of areas in the retina that have no perfusion (or blood flow). There is an unmet need for new mechanisms of action that can provide reperfusion to ischemic areas of the retina as well as prevent leakage of the blood vessels. Surrozen developed a novel FZD4-specific agonist, SZN-413, and examined whether this novel Norrin mimetic could promote the regeneration of functional blood vessels in diabetic retinopathy animal models. In an oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) mouse model, SZN-413 was delivered intravitreally (IVT) and the avascular and neovascular areas were measured 5 days later. The impact on vascular leakage by SZN-413 was also examined in a VEGF-induced retinal vascular leakage rabbit model, in which the level of fluorescein leakage was measured 3 days after IVT delivery of VEGF together with SZN-413 or vehicle. In a poster entitled, “SZN-413, a Fzd4 Agonist as a Potential Novel Therapeutic for the Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy,” data from preclinical mice and rabbit models with damaged retinal vessels showed that in the OIR mouse model, nanogram quantities of...