Paloma Pharmaceuticals Presents at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 20...( - Presentation describes Palomid 529 ...),Health

- Presentation describes Palomid 529 as a first-in-class Dual TORC1/TORC2 complex inhibitor of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway showing efficacy in retinal scarring caused by retinal detachment -

JAMAICA PLAIN, Mass., May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Paloma Pharmaceuticals, Inc. presented "Palomid 529, An Inhibitor of the Akt/mTOR Pathway Reduces Photoreceptor Cell Death Following Experimental Retinal Detachment", today at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2009 (ARVO 2009), This study, presented by Geoffrey P. Lewis, Ph.D. (along with G. Luna, J. Byun, E.A. Chapin and S.K. Fisher) of the Neuroscience Research Institute and Molecular Cell & Developmental Biology Department of the University of California, Santa Barbara, CA. has been accepted for publication in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

Work from this study indicates that intravitreally administered Palomid 529 slows photoreceptor cell death following retinal detachment in a seven day rabbit study without obvious side effects to the retina. This suggests that inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTor signal transduction pathway by Palomid 529 may be neuroprotective to photoreceptors and perhaps represents a novel therapy for other retinal diseases such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. "We are excited over the results of this study in that it further adds to our data showing the versatility of Palomid 529 for diseases of retinal and subretinal origin. Furthermore, results from a separate six month intravitreal ocular biodistribution study, shows the presence of Palomid 529 in the eye for at least six months. This observation coupled with efficacy data described here and in earlier studies indicates that Palomid 529 may be administered infrequently, possibly as little as once a year," says David Sherris, Ph.D., President and CEO of Paloma Pharmaceuticals.