Roca Therapeutics is honored to announce that it has been awarded funding under the “Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Massif des Alpes FEDER-FSE+-FTJ 2021-2027 program,” as part of the European Regional Development Fund.
This financial support is granted for the execution of the program “RCT002: Development of an innovative non-invasive treatment for the management of neovascular ocular diseases.”
The R&D program represents a total investment of €1,580,172.00 (excluding tax), of which €1,106,120.40 is co-financed by the European Union (#FEDER, #europedanslesud, @#Région Sud – Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur).
The goal of the RCT002 project is to develop a drug candidate aimed at improving the management of patients with radiation maculopathy, a rare disease, and eventually, patients suffering from diabetic macular edema. Our innovation lies in the inhibition of new key targets, essential for treating these ocular diseases.
Uveal melanoma is a rare eye cancer, often treated with proton-based radiotherapy. This method, more precise and effective than conventional photon radiotherapy, has a major drawback: more than 50% of patients develop radiation maculopathy. This retinal condition is characterized by the formation of abnormal blood vessels, leading to macular edema (the macula being the central area of the retina). This edema causes significant loss of visual acuity and may, in some cases, require enucleation.
Despite current treatments, which are not approved and require repeated intraocular injections, many patients find themselves quickly at a therapeutic deadlock, with severe deterioration in their quality of life. Additionally, these invasive injections are physically and psychologically difficult to endure.
The administration of RCT002 as an eye drop represents a major breakthrough, combining therapeutic efficacy with convenience. This method avoids invasive hospital procedures and significantly reduces the psychological impact on patients.
The expected outcomes of the R&D program (01/2024 – 04/2026) include:
- Finalize preclinical drug development
- Deepening the understanding of the mechanism of action of the RCT002 candidate
- Demonstrating the efficacy of RCT002 in other neovascular ocular diseases, such as diabetic macular edema
- Completing the pre-industrialization of the compound
In summary, the goal is to complete all necessary studies to enable RCT002 to enter phase 1b/2a clinical trials within the next 12 months.
We express our sincere thanks to the European Union, the South Region, as well as the FEDER team from the South Region for their trust and support. We also extend our thanks to the Eurobiomed competitiveness cluster and the Axcess firm, who are assisting us in managing this European funding.
At Roca Therapeutics, we are a united team, determined to revolutionize therapies to offer patients a new vision of life.