UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of April 2022
Commission File No. 001-39621
OPTHEA LIMITED
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)
Level 4
650 Chapel Street
South Yarra, Victoria, 3141
Australia
(Address of registrant’s principal executive office)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F ☒ Form 40-F ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101 (b) (1):
Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101 (b) (7):
Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes ☐ No ☐
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit |
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Description |
99.1 |
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Press Release dated 29 April 2022 – Opthea Presenting Clinical Data at ARVO 2022 Annual Meeting |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized.
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OPTHEA LIMITED |
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(Registrant) |
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By: |
/s/ Megan Baldwin |
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Name: |
Megan Baldwin, Ph.D. |
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Title: |
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director |
Date: 04/29/2022
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Exhibit 99.1
ASX, Nasdaq and Media Release
April 29, 2022
Opthea Presenting Clinical Data at ARVO 2022 Annual Meeting
Melbourne, Australia; 29 April, 2022 – Opthea Limited (ASX:OPT; NASDAQ:OPT), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies to treat highly prevalent and progressive retinal diseases, announces the presentation of novel clinical data at the upcoming Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2022 conference, taking place in Denver, CO from May 1-4, 2022 and virtually from May 11-12, 2022.
Dr. Jason Slakter, MD will present safety and efficacy data from a prespecified subgroup of patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), a common subtype of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), that were enrolled in Opthea’s Phase 2b clinical trial which investigated OPT-302 in combination with ranibizumab (Lucentis®) compared to ranibizumab alone.
Details for the poster presentation are as follows:
Presentation Title: Efficacy and Safety of OPT-302 in combination with Ranibizumab for Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy
Presenter: Jason S. Slakter, M.D., Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at New York University School of Medicine
Presentation Number: F0213
Date and Time: May 1, 2022 from 12:15 PM to 2:15 PM MDT
The ARVO annual conference is recognized as one of the world’s top medical meetings. With more than 10,000 ARVO members worldwide, the annual ARVO meeting hosts leading scientific researchers, clinical investigators and clinicians involved in the ophthalmic industry.
About Opthea
Opthea (ASX:OPT; Nasdaq:OPT) is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies to address the unmet need in the treatment of highly prevalent and progressive retinal diseases, including wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME). Opthea’s lead product candidate OPT-302 is in pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials and being developed for use in combination with anti-VEGF-A monotherapies to achieve broader inhibition of the VEGF family, with the goal of improving overall efficacy and demonstrating superior vision gains over that which can be achieved by inhibiting VEGF-A alone.
Inherent risks of Investment in Biotechnology Companies
There are a number of inherent risks associated with the development of pharmaceutical products to a marketable stage. The lengthy clinical trial process is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of a drug prior to commercialization and a significant proportion of drugs fail one or both of these criteria. Other risks include uncertainty of patent protection and proprietary rights, whether patent applications and issued patents will offer adequate protection to enable product development, the obtaining of necessary drug regulatory authority approvals and difficulties caused by the rapid advancements in technology. Companies such as Opthea are dependent on the success of their research and
development projects and on the ability to attract funding to support these activities. Investment in research and development projects cannot be assessed on the same fundamentals as trading and manufacturing enterprises. Therefore, investment in companies specializing in drug development must be regarded as highly speculative. Opthea strongly recommends that professional investment advice be sought prior to such investments.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this announcement may contain forward-looking statements, including within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statement describing Company goals, expectations, intentions or beliefs is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement, including, but not limited to, the expected timing of top line results, the advancement of Opthea’s Phase 3 registrational program and commercialization efforts for OPT-302 and Opthea’s goal of building out a substantial presence in the United States. Such statements are based on Opthea’s current plans, objectives, estimates, expectations, and intentions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including risks and uncertainties associated with clinical trials and product development and the impact of general economic, industry or political conditions in Australia, the United States or internationally. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the section titled “Risk Factors” in Opthea’s Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on October 28, 2021. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required under applicable law. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events, which statements apply only as of the date of this announcement. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this ASX announcement.
Authorized for release to ASX by Megan Baldwin, CEO & Managing Director
Company & Media Enquiries: |
Join our email database to receive program updates: |
U.S.A. & International: Sam Martin Argot Partners Tel: +1 212-600-1902 opthea@argotpartners.com
Australia: Rudi Michelson Monsoon Communications Tel: +61 (0) 3 9620 3333 |
Tel: +61 (0) 3 9826 0399 info@opthea.com www.opthea.com
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