A phase 2 study of Amydis Inc's novel retinal tracer AMDX-2011P for detecting amyloid beta in glaucoma patients has begun. Data show that amyloid beta, known for its association with Alzheimer disease, is important in glaucoma pathogenesis, a company news release noted.

The tracer can be seen with imaging devices already in use, allowing for wide accessibility that could increase the detection rate of glaucoma and improve management, the manufacturer said. Using multimodal imaging, the study will look at retinal amyloid beta relative to retinal changes to better understand the pathophysiology of glaucoma.

“If successful, creating a molecular endpoint with Amydis technology has the potential to improve the standard of care for glaucoma patients by enabling improved diagnostic and prognostic assessment and being used as an endpoint for the development of neuroprotective therapies,” said Robert N. Weinreb, MD, director of the Shiley Eye Institute and chair of the Amydis medical advisory board.