DME drug to begin phase I trial this year

Vancouver-iCo Therapeutics Inc. said the FDA has accepted an investigational new drug application for iCo-007 to treat diabetic macular edema (DME). The biotechnology company plans to begin its phase I clinical trial for diffuse DME during the first half of this year.

The second-generation antisense drug targets c-Raf kinase messenger RNA, potentially decreasing the edema in the retina by decreasing the signaling of various growth factors, including VEGF, which signal through the c-Raf kinase/MAP kinase pathway.

Designed and discovered by Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., the drug was licensed to iCo Therapeutics in August 2005.