ThromboGenics Presents Results of the Vitreomacular Traction Trial (MIVI IIT) at the American Society of Retina Specialists Annu...( LEUVEN Belgium December 4 /- -...)

LEUVEN, Belgium, December 4 /PRNewswire/ --

- Microplasmin Shows Clear Promise in Back of the Eye Disease, With Treated Patients Achieving Macular Hole Closure and Traction Release Without Need for Vitrectomy

ThromboGenics NV (Euronext Brussels: THR), a biotechnology company focused on vascular and eye diseases, will today present results from its Phase IIa MIVI IIT trial at the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) 25th Annual Meeting in Indian Wells, California. The trial, which delivered positive clinical results in a number of the treated patients, was designed to evaluate both the safety and efficacy of microplasmin injection for the treatment of vitreomacular traction, an important cause of back of the eye disease. The results of the study will be presented by Professor Peter Stalmans, University Hospitals, Leuven, Belgium.

Vitreomacular traction is a condition where the vitreous (the central fluid part of the eye) has an abnormally strong adhesion to the surface of the macula (the part of the retina responsible for detailed vision). Due to this, the macula may become distorted creating poor or deficient vision. Vitreomacular traction can also lead to sight threatening conditions such as macular holes or macular edema.

In current practice, these conditions are treated by a highly skilled surgical procedure called vitrectomy. The procedure uses suction to remove the vitreous from the eye to induce posterior vitreous detachment or PVD, thereby alleviating the vitreomacular traction. The potential use of microplasmin to treat vitreomacular traction could therefore provide a more convenient, much less invasive approach, to both patients and physicians, for the treatment of important back of the eye diseases such as macular holes, diabetic macular edema, diabetic retinopathy in general, and even in age related macular degeneration (AMD), which are caused or exacerbated by the vitreous adhering to the retina abnormally. '/>"/>