Amydis Receives $3 Million NIH Commercialization Readiness Pilot Grant Award for Novel Amyloid Beta Retinal Tracer in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

SAN DIEGO, June 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Amydis Inc., a leading ocular tracer pharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of diagnostic drug candidates targeting CNS biomarkers in the eye, today announced an award of a $3 million grant from the National Institute of Aging (NIA) at National Institutes of Health (NIH). The two-year Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) Program award will provide additional funding toward the preparation and filing of an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) and completion of an FDA-reviewed adaptive Phase 1/2a first in human clinical trial to test Amydis’s small-molecule retinal tracer targeting the biomarker amyloid beta for the diagnosis of amyloid angiopathy.

Over the last five years, Amydis has received continuous grant support from the NIH to accelerate the development of an amyloid beta retinal tracer designed to be used with conventional retinal cameras already in clinical practice. An effective amyloid beta retinal tracer would enable and accelerate the development and validation of novel therapies as a surrogate biomarker in diseases such as Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy, Alzheimer’s Disease, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration.

“We are very grateful to the NIH for their continued support,” said Dr. Stella Sarraf, CEO and Founder of Amydis. “Our goal is to provide clinicians with more affordable and accessible diagnostics early in the disease process to enable more efficacious intervention and better patient care. The retina is an accessible part of the CNS that can be non-invasively imaged at micron-level resolution, and our novel small molecule compounds are designed to capitalize on this advantage relative to brain imaging and more invasive spinal fluid analysis.”

“The Amydis retinal tracer addresses an unmet need in clinical practice and will be valuable for both patients and doctors,” stated Raymond Scott Turner, MD PhD Professor of Neurology and Director of Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University.

About Amydis, Inc.

Amydis is developing novel, patent-protected drugs – “retinal tracers” – that enable direct visualization of CNS disease-related molecular changes (biomarkers) in the retina.  The Company has a discovery platform and proprietary know-how which uniquely positions them with first mover advantage to explore the retina for a broad spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases that have to date required long-term clinical evaluation and the use of invasive testing for definitive diagnosis.  Amydis aims to become a global leader in developing retinal tracers for neurological diseases.   The future of effective, sustainable healthcare depends on knowledge gained through early diagnostics.

Amydis Contact: Ron Newbold, Chief Business Officer, ron@amydis.com.