SEATTLE, April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Omeros
Corporation (NASDAQ: OMER) today announced that the company was
invited by the organizers of the 2014 Biennial Conference of the
Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) to make an oral
presentation on OMS824, the company's phosphodiesterase 10 (PDE10)
inhibitor in development for the treatment of schizophrenia and
Huntington's disease. OMS824 selectively inhibits PDE10, an enzyme
expressed in areas of the brain linked to a wide range of diseases
that affect cognition. The SIRS Conference will take place in
Florence, Italy April 5-9.
The Omeros presentation is entitled "Early Clinical Results of the
Phosphodiesterase 10 Inhibitor OMS643762 in Development for the
Treatment of Schizophrenia and Huntington's Disease" and is
scheduled for Sunday April 6 during
the pharmaceutical pipeline session. OMS643762 is the reference
name for OMS824 in the company's clinical development program.
The presentation at the SIRS Conference will summarize Phase 1
and early Phase 2 data from Omeros' OMS824 clinical program.
Steve Whitaker, M.D., Omeros' vice
president of clinical development and chief medical officer, will
make the presentation. SIRS was founded in 2005 and is dedicated to
exchanging information about the latest advances in schizophrenia
research among scientists, clinicians, drug developers, and policy
makers internationally. The April 5-9
SIRS Conference in Florence is the
fourth biennial conference and focuses on development of new drugs
and the status of cutting edge research in the field of
schizophrenia. The third biennial SIRS Conference held in 2012 was
attended by over 1600 researchers from 53 countries.
About Omeros' PDE10 Program
PDE10 is an enzyme that is
expressed in areas of the brain linked to diseases that affect
cognition and psychomotor functions, including Huntington's disease
and schizophrenia. Huntington's disease is a hereditary
neurodegenerative disorder that leads to movement, cognition, and
behavioral abnormalities and premature death. Schizophrenia is a
group of severe brain disorders characterized by an abnormal
interpretation of reality, which can manifest as delusions,
hallucinations, and/or disordered thinking and behavior. Cognitive
dysfunction is responsible for substantial disability in both of
these diseases and is not meaningfully improved by current
medications. Omeros' proprietary compound OMS824, currently in
Phase 2 clinical programs, inhibits PDE10 and is being developed
for the treatment of cognitive disorders. In addition to potential
benefits on cognition, OMS824 could also improve the motor and
psychiatric abnormalities in Huntington's disease as well as the
positive (e.g., hallucinations) and negative (e.g., flat affect)
symptoms of schizophrenia. Omeros has been awarded Orphan Drug
designation by the US FDA to evaluate OMS824 in Huntington's
disease, and received Fast Track designation from the FDA for the
development of OMS824 to treat cognitive impairment in Huntington's
disease.
About Omeros Corporation
Omeros is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and
commercializing small-molecule and protein therapeutics targeting
inflammation, coagulopathies and disorders of the central nervous
system. Derived from its proprietary PharmacoSurgery®
platform, the Company's lead drug product, Omidria™
(OMS302) for lens replacement surgery, is currently under review
for marketing approval by both the US Food and Drug Administration
and the European Medicines Agency with US commercial launch planned
for the second half of 2014. Omeros' six other clinical programs
are focused on schizophrenia, Huntington's disease and cognitive
impairment; addictive and compulsive disorders; complement-related
diseases; and preventing problems associated with surgical
procedures. Omeros also has a proprietary GPCR platform, which is
making available an unprecedented number of new GPCR drug targets
and corresponding compounds to the pharmaceutical industry for drug
development.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, which are subject to the "safe harbor" created by
those sections for such statements. All statements other than
statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which
are often indicated by terms such as "anticipate," "believe,"
"could," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "look forward to",
"may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will,"
"would" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are
based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information
available to management only as of the date of this press release.
Omeros' actual results could differ materially from those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons,
including, without limitation, risks associated with Omeros'
ability to obtain regulatory approval for its New Drug Application
in the US and its Marketing Authorization Application in the EU for
the commercialization of Omidria, Omeros' unproven preclinical and
clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, product
commercialization, intellectual property claims, competitive
developments, litigation, and the risks, uncertainties and other
factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on March 13, 2014. Given
these risks, uncertainties and other factors, you should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and the company
assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements,
even if new information becomes available in the future.
SOURCE Omeros Corporation