Kriya Announces Gene Therapy Program for Thyroid Eye Disease

– KRIYA-586 is designed to be a one-time treatment delivered by focal peribulbar injection, that encodes an antibody blocking the Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Receptor (IGF-1R), a clinically validated drug target in Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) –

– Kriya expects its TED gene therapy candidate to enter the clinic in 2025 –

PALO ALTO, Calif. and RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC — Jan. 5, 2024 —KriyaTher­a­peu­tics, Inc., (Kriya) a bio­phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal company developing gene therapies for common diseases affecting millions of people around the world, today announced its gene therapy program for thyroid eye disease (TED), a debil­i­tat­ing autoimmune condition resulting in proptosis and diplopia, medical terms describing bulging of the eyes and double vision respec­tive­ly, due to inflam­ma­tion of the muscles and fat tissue behind the eye. TED affects approx­i­mate­ly one million people in the United States and the European Union.

Kriya is developing KRIYA-586, a one-time, adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy that drives durable expression of a monoclonal antibody that blocks IGF‑1 receptors. The therapy is designed for in-office admin­is­tra­tion by peribulbar injection into the fat surrounding the eye, where cells are engineered to locally produce and secrete an antibody that blocks IGF‑1 receptors on myocytes, adipocytes and fibroblasts. IGF-1R blockade has been established as a clinically validated mechanism of action, as evidenced by tepro­tu­mum­ab, the first and only FDA-approved therapy for TED. KRIYA-586 has been evaluated in multiple large animal species, and the company plans to present data from these studies at upcoming medical conferences.

“We believe that an in-office, focally admin­is­tered gene therapy for TED would mean­ing­ful­ly improve the quality of life of people with TED, with the potential to durably address the disease following one-time injection,” said Shankar Ramaswamy, M.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Kriya. ​“Together with our gene therapy for geographic atrophy, today’s public announce­ment of our TED program reflects our deep commitment to advancing the field of oph­thal­mol­o­gy by developing trans­for­ma­tion­al gene therapies aimed at addressing common causes of vision loss and blindness.”

Kriya has designed its TED gene therapy candidate with the following goals:

  • One-time, in-office peribulbar injection may minimize the treatment burden for patients
  • Localized antibody expression in extraocular muscles and fat tissue may limit the potential for side effects that can be observed with sys­tem­i­cal­ly admin­is­tered therapies
  • Durable AAV-mediated antibody expression may deliver sustained improve­ments in proptosis and diplopia as well as other key man­i­fes­ta­tions of TED

Dr. Ramaswamy will present an overview of Kriya’s pipeline and platform at the J.P. Morgan 42nd Annual Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, January 9th at 9:00 AM PT in San Francisco, California.

About Thyroid Eye Disease (TED)

TED is an autoimmune disease that causes inflam­ma­tion and enlargement of the muscles and fat tissue behind the eye. This results in proptosis and diplopia which can sig­nif­i­cant­ly impact quality of life of patients with TED. Tepro­tu­mum­ab is the only FDA approved therapy for the treatment of TED, and is an intra­venous­ly admin­is­tered monoclonal antibody that works by blocking IGF‑1 receptors. However, many patients who receive this sys­tem­i­cal­ly admin­is­tered therapy experience severe side effects such as hearing loss and hyper­glycemia as well as a loss of durability of effect despite initial responses. There is a need for safe and durable treatments that can address the approx­i­mate­ly one million patients in the United States and the European Union who have TED.

About Kriya Therapeutics

Our mission is to rev­o­lu­tion­ize medicine, with the ultimate goal of eliminating human suffering and enabling people to live without the burden of disease. Kriya is a bio­phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal company developing gene therapies to address common diseases affecting millions of people around the world. With operations in Palo Alto, California and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Kriya has raised over $600 million, which will be used to advance a broad pipeline of gene therapies for oph­thal­mol­o­gy, metabolic disease, and neurology. For more information, please visit www​.kriyatx​.comand follow us on LinkedInand X.

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Kelli Perkins

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