Q2 Business Update: View Kiora's Latest Presentation Detailing Our Sharpened Focus on Orphan Retinal Disease
Dear Investors,
Earlier this morning we reported our second quarter business update detailing the progress we’ve made with our pipeline, reviewing the data we’ve presented thus far for KIO-301 in the treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa and how these findings have contributed to our exciting and sharpened focus on orphan retinal diseases. As part of this, we would like to share our updated investor presentation that reflects our strategy, which you can on the homepage of our investor relations website (ir.kiorapharma.com).
What this new focus means is that we’ll continue to advance KIO-301 as planned as well as expand to treating patients with Choroideremia and Stargardt’s Disease. Patients living with both of these orphan, inherited retinal diseases have no therapeutic options available and are at risk of going blind. These diseases have significant overlap with the pathology of Retinitis Pigmentosa and as such, KIO-301’s mechanism of action should be applicable. We recently partnered with the Choroideremia Research Foundation, the world’s largest non-for-profit patient advocacy group focused on Choroideremia, to help our efforts in advancing KIO-301 in this indication.
For our DHODH inhibitor, we’re going to advance KIO-104, which shares the same active compound as KIO-101 but formulated for delivery to the retina, to treat an orphan retinal disease called Posterior Non-Infectious Uveitis. Data from an early-stage clinical trial showed very promising results. As such, it represents an exciting opportunity with a potentially shorter path to providing patients with a new treatment option.
We’d like to leave you with a reminder of why we’re committed to our mission. Globally, millions of patients are affected by hundreds, if not thousands, of retinal diseases. The majority of these patients have no therapeutic options except to prepare for a life in the dark. The angst these individuals feel is well documented. In the book Touching the Rock, the author John M Hull describes his path to blindness as follows:
“…the last light sensations faded and the dark discs had finally overwhelmed me. I had fought them bravely, as it seemed to me, for thirty-six years, but to no avail. It was then I began to sink into the deep ocean, and finally learn how to touch the rock on the far side of despair.”
This anecdote is what drives us each day. We appreciate your interest in Kiora and invite you to reach out to us with any questions.
The Kiora Team
Released August 8, 2023