EyePoint Pharmaceuticals' stock soars 200% after company announces positive data for macular degeneration treatment

By Ciara Linnane

Study met primary and secondary goals

EyePoint Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s stock rocketed 200% on Monday, after the company announced positive results from a Phase 2 trial of its EYP-1901 treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration, or wet-AMD.

The move put the stock (EYPT) on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain, easily surpassing the previous record of a gain of 58% set on April 23. Volume of 18 million shares traded by mid afternoon compares with an average of 520,000 a day over the last 65 days.

The Watertown, Mass.-based company said the study combining vorolanib, a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, with bioerodible Durasert E, met its primary non-inferiority endpoint which measured change in best corrected visual acuity, or BCVA, compared to the aflibercept control, approximately six months after initial injection.

It also met key secondary endpoints with both doses used in the study - 2 mg and 3 mg - including a more than 80% reduction in treatment burden, nearly two-thirds of eyes supplement-free up to six months and over 80% receiving only zero or one supplement up to six months.

"Wet AMD is a prevalent and progressive lifetime disease. With frequent treatment, patients can maintain their visual acuity, but the unfortunate reality is that many patients end up undertreated due to the burden of dosing of the currently available, short-acting anti-VEGF therapies," DR. Carl Regillo, Chief of Retina Service at Wills Eye Hospital, said in a statement.

EyePoint said the trial initially intended to enroll 144 patients, but ended up with 160 due to strong interest from investigators and patients.

The company plans to release the full dataset at Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration 2024 in February.

Age-related macular degeneration is a leading cause of blindness or vision loss in people over 60, according to the Mayo Clinic. It's usually caused by blood vessels that leak fluid or blood into the macula, the part of the retina that gives the eye clear vision in the direct line of sight.

EyePoint said it's also on track to reach other clinical milestones with EYP-1901 with the initiation of the Phase 2 VERONA trial in diabetic macular edema expected to begin early next year.

The stock has gained 468% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 19.7%.

-Ciara Linnane

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12-04-23 1443ET

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