SUWON, South Korea—OliX Pharmaceuticals (KOSDAQ: 226950), a developer of RNAi therapeutics, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to develop OLX10212 for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). OLX10212 targets inflammation pathways that play a key role in the development of geographic atrophy (GA) and neovascular AMD. The primary objective of the upcoming phase 1 program is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of OLX10212 in patients with AMD.

Dong Ki Lee, PhD, founder and CEO of OliX Pharmaceuticals, commented, “FDA approval of the IND for OLX10212 marks a significant milestone in expanding OliX’s commitment to the treatment of ophthalmic diseases. Based on OLX10212’s encouraging preclinical data, we believe that OLX10212 holds promise to become a novel, safe and efficient treatment option for patients with GA and neovascular AMD.”

With the FDA approval of the IND application for OLX10212, the OliX has entered clinical trials for two investigational therapeutic programs in the U.S. In June 2022, the company completed patient enrollment of the Phase 2a clinical trial of OLX10010, for the treatment of hypertrophic scarring.