Company: LCTX
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-036309
Chunk: 14

Company: Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 14
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 Programs

OpRegen®  (RG6501)

OpRegen is a RPE cell therapy in Phase 2a development for the treatment of GA secondary to AMD. Following subretinal delivery, OpRegen has the potential to counteract RPE cell loss in areas of GA lesions by supporting retinal structure and function. OpRegen is being developed under a worldwide collaboration between Lineage, Roche and Genentech. See Note 13 (Commitments and Contingencies) to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for discussion on the Roche Agreement.

OpRegen has been granted Fast Track and RMAT designations from the FDA, which includes an expedited regulatory path with the ability for increased interfacing with the FDA during the clinical development process.

AMD is a gradual, progressive, deterioration of the macula, the small sensitive area in the center of the retina that provides clear, high-definition central vision. It is a leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 65 in the developed world. According to a 2022 report in JAMA Ophthalmology, 18.34 million individuals in the U.S. 40 years and older (11.64%) were living with early-stage AMD and 1.49 million (0.94%) were living with late-stage AMD in 2019. As the area of atrophy begins to include the fovea (the center of the macula), patients may lose their central vision, making facial recognition, reading, and driving difficult or impossible, and may ultimately become legally blind. The exact cause of GA secondary to AMD is unknown, but is thought to result from multiple factors, such as genetics, age, smoking history, and environmental effects. There are two clinical presentations of AMD, the dry form, and the wet, or neovascular form (growth of abnormal new blood vessels). Dry AMD typically advances slowly toward GA as RPE cells and photoreceptors become dysfunctional and deteriorate over time. RPE cells support and nourish the retina by metabolizing waste by-products and producing a number of components essential for photoreceptor health and function. If the metabolic waste products accumulate, lesions known as drusen may result. Approximately 85-90% of AMD patients suffer from the dry form of AMD, for which there are only two FDA approved therapeutic options at this time, pegcetacoplan injection (SYFOVRE®) and avacincaptad pegol intravitreal solution (IZERVAY