Study Shows Novel Flavoprotein Fluorescence Measure is Correlated with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Stage

OcuSciences’ retinal biomarker, flavoprotein fluorescence (FPF), as measured by its device, the OcuMet Beacon, was shown to correlate with AMD Beckman stage

ANN ARBOR, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–OcuSciences, a medical device company developing ocular imagers to detect early disease by assessing retinal metabolic activity, today announced the publication of an Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) study in the Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers and Imaging Retina journal. By quantifying the degree of retinal oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, these findings suggest that the novel FPF measure can categorize AMD patients by stage, which may better elucidate the underlying pathophysiology of AMD.

This prospective observational study, led by Rishi Singh, M.D., staff ophthalmologist at Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute and president of Cleveland Clinic Martin Health, included 456 eyes (228 AMD eyes, 228 age-matched control eyes), with cohorts of early AMD, intermediate AMD, geographic atrophy (GA), and neovascular AMD. Patients were imaged with the OcuMet Beacon, OcuSciences’ flagship functional retinal imager, between August 2018 and December 2021 to capture and quantify their overall FPF intensity and FPF heterogeneity. Intermediate, geographic atrophy, and neovascular AMD correlated with significantly increased FPF intensity, while all AMD stages correlated with increased FPF heterogeneity.

“These findings suggest that mitochondrial function plays an important role in the progression of AMD,” said Dr. Singh. “The ability to quantitatively measure mitochondrial dysfunction may give us better insights into how and when to treat AMD patients.”

The OcuMet Beacon is an automated, rapid retinal imager that assesses mitochondrial function by interrogating flavoproteins. The device emits a very specific wavelength of light that excites flavoproteins in retinal mitochondria only when those mitochondria cannot efficiently produce ATP. The dysfunctional flavoproteins emit a specific wavelength that the device then captures and quantifies. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been documented as a precursor to apoptosis, or cell death.

The OcuMet Beacon is currently being used at Cole Eye Institute under Institutional Review Board.

About OcuSciences, Inc.

OcuSciences, Inc., is a commercial-stage biotechnology company developing retinal imagers to identify metabolic dysfunction occurring in the retina for the early detection of disease. Its flagship device, the OcuMet Beacon, has been developed to automatically and non-invasively assess retinal metabolic function by detecting the degree of flavoprotein fluorescence (FPF), a well-studied precursor to retinal cell death, in a patient’s eye. OcuSciences has shown preliminary clinical utility in a number of different disease states, including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. Learn more at www.ocusciences.com.

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Kurt Riegger

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