Arshad Khanani, MD Credit: Sierra Eye Associates Results from the Phase 2 ReCLAIM-2 trial demonstrated the potential of elamipretide for photoreceptor protection and improved visual function in eyes with geographic atrophy (GA) associated with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) . 1 Supplementing the Phase 1 findings, ReCLAIM-2 confirmed the connection between ellipsoid zone (EZ) health and visual function in dry AMD. These Phase 2 data pointed to elamipretide’s role in improving the bioenergetics and health of failing photoreceptors, leading to vision preservation and reducing further loss.
“I’m excited about the potential of having systemic treatments for dry AMD and GA,” Arshad Khanani, MD, director of clinical research at Sierra Eye Associates and clinical professor at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, told HCPLive . “Elamipretide’s mechanism of action, [based on] data from the ReCLAIM-1 and ReCLAIM-2 studies, is promising.” Progressive mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to the pathophysiology of AMD, with retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) mitochondria experiencing pronounced degenerative changes in AMD.
2 These changes in retinal bioenergetics play a significant role in vision loss, with mitochondrial dysfunction in photoreceptors leading to EZ attenuation. Elamipretide targets dysfunctional cardiolipin metabolism associated with mitochondrial disease and has been shown to protect RPE mitochondrial structure and function. 3 In prec.