being granted Fast-Track designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with wet AMD. The FDAs Fast-Track designation, granted in July 2021, acknowledges the significant unmet medical need in the management of wet AMD and offers benefits to expedite the Phase 3 clinical development program and subsequent potential approval process.
From a financial perspective, Opthea was pleased to announce receipt of a A$6.6m research and development (R&D) tax credit from the Australian Taxation Office in January 2022. The R&D Tax Incentive is an Australian Federal Government program under which companies can receive cash incentives for 43.5% of eligible R&D expenditure. On 1 February 2022, we announced the filing of a shelf registration statement on Form F-3 with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US and the establishment of an ‘at the market’ (ATM) program.
In October 2021 Opthea announced the grant of a Chinese patent covering OPT-302. The Chinese patent covers OPT-302, pharmaceutical compositions comprising OPT-302, nucleic acid molecules that code for OPT-302, and the use of OPT-302 in the manufacture of preparations for the treatment of disorders associated with aberrant angiogenesis and/or lymphangiogenesis, including eye diseases such as wet AMD. The patent term in China extends to February 2034.
The granting of the Chinese patent covering OPT-302 aligns well with the Company’s strategy to further investigate OPT-302 as new treatment for retinal diseases in China and other Asian populations. In February 2022, Professor Gemmy Cheung from the Singapore Eye Research Institute presented data for OPT-302 in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) at the Bascom Palmer Angiogenesis, Exudation and Degeneration conference. PCV is a subtype of AMD that is particularly prevalent among Asian populations and typically difficult-to-treat with standard of care VEGF-A inhibitors. As one of the most common forms of wet AMD globally, representing 60% of AMD in some Asian populations, PCV represents a large commercial opportunity for OPT-302. In a prespecified subgroup analysis of the Company’s Phase 2b clinical trial in wet AMD patients, OPT-302 combination therapy demonstrated a +6.7 letter comparative superiority to standard of care alone (p=0.0253). The +6.7 letter comparative superiority was also accompanied by a greater improvement in secondary vision and anatomical outcome measures at week 24.
Opthea’s Phase 3 ShORe and COAST trials will enroll a number of treatment naïve patients with PCV and additionally, further studies in Asian populations could be undertaken to investigate OPT-302’s potential to improve vision outcomes in this difficult-to-treat sub-type of wet AMD.
Intellectual Property
Opthea owns a patent family covering the OPT-302 molecule, and uses thereof, extending out to February 2034. This patent has been filed in 19 jurisdictions and been granted in the US, Europe (validated in 38 countries), Japan, China, South Korea, Canada, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico, South Africa, Colombia and Russia. The patent application is currently pending in Brazil, India and the Philippines.
The US patent, which was granted in August 2017, includes broad claims to the OPT-302 molecule, and analogues thereof, and their use to treat disorders involving neovascularization, including eye diseases such as wet AMD and diabetic macular edema (DME).
In the US, Opthea has another granted patent relating to soluble VEGFR-3 molecules which includes composition of matter claims to soluble VEGFR-3 molecules (such as OPT-302) and extends out to November 2026.
Investor Relations
Over the past 6 months, Opthea has continued to raise the profile of the Company’s technology and Phase 3 clinical development program to both the international and local investment community. The Company regularly presents and meets with global institutional and retail investors through investor meetings and forums. In September 2021, Opthea presented at the H.C. Wainwright Ophthalmology Virtual Conference. In September 2021, Opthea participated in Citi’s 16th Annual BioPharma Virtual Conference, H.C. Wainwright’s Annual Healthcare Conference and the Oppenheimer Healthcare Fall Summit. In addition, Opthea met with investors virtually as part of the J.P. Morgan Conference activities in January 2022, and participated in the SVB Leerink Global Healthcare Conference in February 2022. In addition, Opthea either attended or presented to the clinical ophthalmology community at various industry-specific medical and clinical meetings, including Clinical Trials at the Summit (August 2021), Wills Eye Macula 2022 conference and the 19th Annual Bascom Palmer Angiogenesis meeting.
Subsequent Events
Other than on February 1, 2022, when Opthea announced the establishment of an At-the-Market Equity Program with Jefferies LLC, whereby the Company may offer and sell up to US$75 million of its Ordinary Shares in the form of American Depository Shares, from the end of the reporting period to the date of this report, no matter or circumstance has arisen which has significantly affected, or may significantly affect, the operations of the Group, the results of those operations or the state of affairs of the Group.
2022 Half-Year Report / 3