Connectyx Announces Grant of Exclusive Worldwide License from National Institutes of Health for Repurposing Metformin to Treat Degenerative Eye Disease

Boca Raton, FL, Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Connectyx Technologies Holdings Group, Inc. (OTC: CTYX) (“Connectyx” or the “Company”), a development-stage biomedical company focusing on novel treatments for rare diseases today announced it has entered into an Exclusive Patent License Agreement to practice inventions contained within the patent applications listed below with the National Eye Institute (NEI), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the repurposed use of Metformin to treat Retinal Degeneration (RD).

The license patent rights include U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/899,899 and entitled, “Druggable Targets to Treat Retinal Degeneration” filed September 13, 2019 (E-227-2017-US-01); International Patent Application No.: PCT/US2020/050540 and entitled, “Druggable Targets to Treat Retinal Degeneration” filed September 11, 2020 (E-227-2017-PCT-O2); and U.S. and foreign patent applications claiming priority to the applications. The territory for the exclusive license is worldwide.

The degeneration of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) is associated with various types of RD such as Stargardt disease, retinitis pigmentosa, choroideremia, late-onset retinal degeneration (L-ORD), and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In the United States, 11 million people are affected by some form of AMD.

Research has shown that Metformin, an FDA-approved drug that has been widely used for the treatment of diabetes in the United States since 1995, can activate AMP-activated protein kinase, can reduce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion, and can correct baseline calcium levels in patient RPE cells. The new treatment indications will require reformulating the drug into an eye drop, injectable or other topical delivery method to be able to deliver sufficient drug to the RPE layer to have a therapeutic effect. This reformulated drug should be eligible for a 505(b)(2) accelerated development path. While the field of use covers treating any degenerative eye disease, the Company is targeting Stargardt, a currently untreatable orphan disease that causes vision loss in children, as the first indication for this therapeutic product.