The Opthea Limited (ASX: OPT) share price surged more than 20% during trade today, following the company's recent announcement about its data being presented at an upcoming industry conference.
What did Opthea announce?
Earlier today, Opthea announced that clinical trial results from Phase 1b/2a studies of its OPT-302 therapy will be presented at the upcoming American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) virtual annual meeting. According to the company, ASRS is the largest vitro-retinal specialty society in the world with more than 3,000 members from 63 countries.
Opthea's clinical data in treating diabetic macular edema (DME) will be presented by Dr David Boyer, an internationally recognised vitreo-retinal specialist ophthalmologist. The presentation will include clinical data and results from Opthea's OPT-302 Phase 1b/2a trial, which involved 300 injections induced in over 150 patients with persistent DME.
Commenting on the news, Opthea CEO and managing director Megan Baldwin stated: "The acceptance of the oral presentation demonstrates the depth of our science and high level of interest and we look forward to Dr Boyer sharing the data for the first time with the retina specialist community during ASRS."
What does Opthea do?
Opthea is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that is developing a novel therapy to treat highly prevalent and progressive retinal diseases. The company's flagship and lead product candidate OPT-302 is focused on treating wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema, with Opthea holding worldwide rights to the product. OPT-302 is designed to block the activity of 2 proteins that cause blood vessels to grow and leak.
Earlier this year Opthea was added to the S&P/ASX 300 Index during the June rebalance. The company released a statement acknowledging the inclusion and highlighted the company's strong performance. According to the company, Opthea's inclusion into the Index could help further diversify the shareholder base as its OPT-302 advances through clinical stages.
Diabetic macular edema is a leading cause of vision loss in adults, with the disease having limited treatment options. As a result there is significant, unmet demand for an efficient and durable therapy for the disease. In early June, Opthea reported positive Phase 2a trial results for OPT-302, in which 52.8% of patients achieved better visual acuity.
Foolish takeaway
Opthea shares have continued to surge throughout the day. At the time of writing, the Opthea share price is trading 17.83% higher at $2.71, after hitting an intraday high of $2.83.
