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Targeting SDF-1 for effective wet AMD treatment

Award Number: R44EY030828
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2024

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Targeting SDF-1 for effective wet AMD treatment - PROJECT ABSTRACT Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of new blindness among people who are 55 or older. The current standard of care for wet AMD is anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) agents, such as Lucentis, Eylea, and Avastin (used off-label). These anti-VEGF agents inhibit VEGF-mediated angiogenesis, and effectively stop or even reverse the vision loss for most patients. Despite being the best treatment currently available, it has two critical shortcomings: 1) limited near-term vision gain and poor long- term vision maintenance; (2) major cost and treatment burden. First, despite continued treatment, only ~1/3 of the patient gain >3 lines of vision over the first 12 months; after 3-4 years, most patients start losing vision again and eventually dropping to pre-treatment levels. Second, patients must return to the clinic every 1 to 2 months for intravitreal injections – a specialized, uncomfortable and costly procedure that represents significant treatment burden. The purpose of this SBIR is to develop highly stable aptamers against SDF-1, which may serve as an orthogonal treatment for wet AMD. SDF-1 has long been known to play an important role in choroidal neovascularization (CNV), the landmark pathological process of wet AMD. The Aptitude team has accumulated extensive experience in aptamer discovery. We have previously developed the Particle Display method that significantly improves the aptamer performance. Moreover, we have made further improvement to directly screen for fully modified aptamers that enables longer duration of efficacy. Our expertise in aptamer discovery is complemented by our collaborators’ expertise in wet AMD preclinical research. Our collaborator is among the first to demonstrate the role of SDF-1 in CNV, and possess in-depth expertise in relevant animal models. If successful, this project has the potential of bringing more efficacious and affordable treatment to wet AMD patients.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = -$54,678 )
2025	2021	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS INC	125 CREMONA DR	GOLETA	CA	93117	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Vision Research	000	3	3/18/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$54,678
														Subtotal = -$54,678

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2024	2021	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS INC	125 CREMONA DR	GOLETA	CA	93117	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Vision Research	000	3	1/2/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $805,217 )
2021	2021	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	125 CREMONA DR # 100	GOLETA	CA	93117	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Vision Research	000	3	7/28/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$805,217
														Subtotal = $805,217

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $911,698 )
2020	2020	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	2219 BATH ST	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93105	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Vision Research	002	2	7/27/2020	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$911,698
2020	2019	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	2219 BATH ST	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93105	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Vision Research	001	1	6/9/2020	NEW	$0
2020	2019	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	2219 BATH ST	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93105	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Vision Research	000	1	4/16/2020	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $911,698

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $282,661 )
2019	2019	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	2219 BATH ST	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93105	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Vision Research	000	1	9/17/2019	NEW	$282,661
														Subtotal = $282,661

Grand Total All Awards = $1,944,898

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Targeting SDF-1 for effective wet AMD treatment

Award Number: R44EY030828

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2024

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