BETA-002

BETA-002 is under development as a breakthrough treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and diabetic macular oedema, two diseases marked by overgrowth in the retina of abnormally shaped and abnormally leaky blood vessels.

Current and emerging treatments of these two diseases focus on blocking a single group of angiogenic factors known as vascular endothelial growth factors (or VEGFs). While important to the disease process, that process in both diseases is driven by a lot of other factors including those responsible for making the blood vessels leaky.

The result is that VEGF inhibitors only do half the job at best.

The first breakthrough is that BETA-002 has been designed to do the whole job by blocking VEGFs plus a range of other inflammatory drivers including VCAM-1, ICAM-1, IL-6, IL-1b, CXCL-1, CXCL-3, CXCL-8 and CCL-20.

In animal models of wet AMD, this technology considerably outperformed the current market leader (aflibercept), confirming the benefit of using a drug with more comprehensive anti-inflammatory actions.

The second breakthrough is that BETA-002 is a small molecule capable of being delivered by eyedropper or orally and therefore offering patient-friendly treatment that avoids the current, much-maligned monthly eyeball injections.

BETA-002 is currently undergoing laboratory studies to determine the preferred dosage form (either eyedrop, oral or both) – with plans for anticipated human trials in first half 2026.

NOTE: This project is being funded for 3 years by a grant from the Australian Government and UNSW.