8:45 am Morning Refreshments & Registration
9:25 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
DEVELOPING DURABLE DRUG FORMULATION & HALF-LIFE EXTENSION TO ACHIEVE PROLONGED DRUG EXPOSURE WITHIN THE RETINAL VASCULATURE
9:30 am Aflibercept – Longer Lasting, Higher Dose to Optimize Treatment
Synopsis
- Translating learnings from the aflibercept 8 mg program to improve treatment delivery and sustain disease control when treating Wet AMD, DME and DR
- Addressing the potential risks and side effects when developing higher dose formulation
10:00 am Panel & Live Audience Discussion: Optimizing Drug Delivery to the Retina
Synopsis
- Topical Solutions: Reviewing topical solutions as for retinal vascular diseases
- Gene Therapy: Overcoming existing hurdles surrounding the development of Ophthalmic gene therapies and their delivery
- Durable Formulations: Developing durable formulations for nAMD, DR and DME to achieve longer lasting delivery
11:00 am Morning Networking Break
EXPLORING NOVEL TARGETS BEYOND THE VEGF PATHWAY TO TREAT NEOVASCULARIZATION
11:30 am Exploring Retinal Non-Perfusion as a Novel Target for Diabetic Retinopathy
Synopsis
- Discussing the current unmet medical need in DR treatment
- Addressing retinal non-perfusion to target the pathophysiology of diabetic retinopathy
- Showcasing clinical trial design for novel compounds targeting retinal non-perfusion
12:00 pm Neuroprotective Factors & Anti-VEGF Working Together
Synopsis
- Neuroprotective factors released by VEGF decreases as anti-VEGF concentrations increase – developing bispecific drugs that produce neuroprotective factors to aid neurons and achieve long term success with high quality treatment
- How can the new reports from preclinical studies for neuroprotective factors prevent or delay the onset of retinal vascular diseases, especially Wet AMD?
12:30 pm Lunch & Networking Break
ASSESSING CURRENT REGULATORY GUIDELINES & REQUIREMENTS TO FAST-TRACK THE PROGRESSION OF NOVEL THERAPEUTICS
1:30 pm Panel & Live Audience Discussion: Reviewing & Establishing the Translational Challenges of Accelerating Neovascularization Drugs into the Clinic & Beyond
Synopsis
- Capabilities and limitations of current pre-clinical models in allowing translatable research in nAMD / DME and DR
- Finding optimal clinical biomarkers and endpoints for different development stages in Wet AMD / DME/ DR
- Reviewing the need for updated regulatory guidelines for the measurements of efficacy and safety endpoints such as visual acuity, for the new patient population with choroidal neovascularization
RETINAL IMAGING & CLINICAL BIOMARKERS TO BETTER ASSESS DISEASE PROGRESSION INTO NEOVASCULARIZATION IN THE EYE
2:30 pm Defining Disease Activity of Wet AMD, DME & DR Through Retinal Imaging
Synopsis
- Discussing the lack of a standardized definition for Disease Activity
- Examining the variable and heterogeneous definition of disease activity and rescue criteria in clinical trials in Wet AMD
- Exploring how complex definitions used in clinical trials are difficult to translate to real world practice that may impact long term outcomes of drugs postapproval in RW
- Uncovering the role and value of data from other retinal imaging modalities, such as OCT angiography, FFA, UWF and ICG
3:00 pm Inflammasome Inhibition: The new Anti-VEGFs?
Synopsis
- Upregulation of inflammasomes in ocular disease
- Inhibition inflammasomes in pre-clinical models
- Big data and clinical proof of concept