Jay Chhablani, MD, reviews late-breaking findings from the ArMaDa trial

Jay Chhablani, MD, is vice chair of clinical trials at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Vision Institute in Pittsburgh, PA. During this year's meeting of the European Society of Retina Specialists (EURETINA), Dr. Chhablani shared new research findings in a late-breaking data session. He presented data from the Phase 1/2 ArMaDa trial, which is assessing OCU410 (Ocugen), a novel modifier gene therapy for geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

In conversation with Hattie Hayes, editor of Ophthalmology Times Europe, Dr. Chhablani highlighted safety results from the Phase 1/2 trial. He described the efficacy results as particularly encouraging, and indicative of the potential for this one-time gene modifier therapy to offer new relief to patients with GA and AMD. Dr. Chhablani also said that plans for a Phase 3 study are underway, and more information on these plans will become available in early 2026.

These successful reports do not mean that gene therapy will immediately replace other AMD-targeting therapies on the market, Dr. Chhablani added. But a wider variety of treatment options could be available to patients in the near future. "Honestly, I feel that having multiple approaches to the same problem is probably one of the biggest benefits," he said. "We are yet to understand which patients are getting benefited most [from OCU410]. But I would say that I have seen and compared the data from the approved complement inhibitors at 6-months follow up, and it already shows that [this therapy] is superior compared to the FDA-approved drugs."

Watch the full video to hear Dr. Chhablani talk about the potential of this therapy, how artificial intelligence could make treatment more efficacious, and what clinicians should expect from gene therapy moving forward.