Oral retinoid enters trials

QLT091001 (QLT Inc.), a synthetic retinoid, has begun a Phase I safety study. The orally administered compound is designed to replace 11-cis-retinal, a part of the retinoid-rhodopsin cycle that is essential for visual function, in Leber's Congenital Amaurosis (LCA) sufferers.

There is currently no treatment for LCA, but the hypothesis of synthetic retinoid replacement therapy has been proved to be sound in earlier trials in rodent models.

The open-label, single centre study will assess the safety and tolerability of the compound when administered multiple times to healthy, adult, human volunteers. The trial will examine six separate dose strengths.

QLT hopes to announce preliminary data from the trial in the first quarter of 2009.