Glaucoma is a chronic condition in which the optic nerve is damaged. As Altacor explains on its website, “untreated elevated [intraocular pressure] causes irreversible damage to the optic nerve and loss of retinal fibers, resulting in a typical pattern of visual fields loss which is progressive and permanent. Initially, this is only noticeable using special tests, but if allowed to progress, it can lead to ‘tunnel vision’ and ultimately, loss of vision.” Some treatments, including surgery, can slow the progression, but there is no cure as of yet. The company currently has four products within its pipeline indicated for glaucoma: ALT 022 for steroid-induced glaucoma, ALT 401 for glaucoma surgery (orphan), ALT 004/a and ALT 025. ALT 401 is still in the formulation stage, ALT 022 and ALT 025 are in the preclinical stage and ALT 004/a has reached the regulatory stage.  

 

Proximagen says it has no predictions as to PRX00933’s commercial potential, but there is certainly no lack of demand, as the global ophthalmology market was worth more than $12 billion in 2008, according to Datamonitor Stakeholder Opinion: Ophthalmology 2010. Glaucoma, which is listed as the second leading cause for blindness by the World Health Organization after cataracts, represented the single biggest market within that sum, with sales exceeding $5 billion. More than two million people are affected by glaucoma in the United States alone, and approximately 120,000 are blind from the eye disease, which accounts for 9 percent to 12 percent of all cases of blindness within the nation.