ThromboGenics Completes Patient Enrolment for Phase II Trial of Microplasmin for the Treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema (MI...( LEUVEN Belgium March 6 /- Thrombo...),Health

LEUVEN, Belgium, March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ThromboGenics NV (Euronext Brussels: THR), a biotechnology company focused on innovative treatments for eye disease, vascular disease and cancer, today announces that it has completed patient enrolment for a Phase II trial of microplasmin intravitreal injection for the treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema (MIVI II DME). This trial is designed as the initial step in evaluating the utility of microplasmin in patients with diabetes, a group which is more prone to eye disease such as diabetic retinopathy, due to their underlying medical condition.

The MIVI II DME trial is a Phase II, randomized, double masked, sham injection controlled, dose ascending clinical trial evaluating the safety and initial efficacy of intravitreal microplasmin for the treatment of patients with Diabetic Macular Edema, a particular form of diabetic retinopathy. The trial is primarily intended to evaluate safety in this specific patient population, but will also assess efficacy by measuring the induction of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). The trial recruited over 50 patients across Europe. Patients are to be followed for 12 months, with first unmasked data analyzed after 6 months follow-up, and to be presented towards the end of 2009.

Diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of visual loss and the leading cause of blindness in patients aged 20-60. Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) is a condition where swelling of the retina occurs in patients with diabetic retinopathy, due to a leakage of fluid from blood vessels within the macula. The only approved treatment for patients with DME is laser photocoagulation; however, this treatment does not improve vision once it is lost. In patients who do not respond to laser photocoagulation, vitrectomy (the surgical procedure used to produce a PVD) is currently used as a treatment, as vitreomacular adhesion is thought to play an important part in the
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