ASP-440 — a protease, developed by ActiveSite Pharmaceuticals and an inhibitor of plase kallikrein — may provide an effective therapeutic treatment for diabetic retinopathy (DR), according to study results published in the February 2009 issue of Hypertension.

Edward P. Feener, PhD of Harvard Medical School and the Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, US and colleagues tested ASP-440 through continuous systemic administration to rodents whose vasculature had been compromised by hypertension.

In the animal model, ASP-440 reduced the permeability of the retinal vasculature by up to 70%, and also reduced elevated blood pressure.

The team concluded that, by reducing retinal permeability through inhibition of kallikrein, ASP-440 may be able to reduce the incidence of diabetic macular oedema and diabetic retinopathy.