Optherion’s Genetic Research in Dry AMD Featured in Forbes

Article Says “Breakthrough” May Offer Hope for Millions

NEW HAVEN, CT (March 10, 2008) – Optherion, Inc., a company developing products to diagnose and treat dry and wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and other chronic diseases involving the alternative complement system, is featured in the March 24 issue of Forbes magazine. The article, titled “The Seeing-Eye Gene,” carried the subhead: “A breakthrough in gene research may offer hope for the millions suffering from macular degeneration.”

The article quoted Candace Cox, a 56-year-old management consultant from Scottsdale, AZ, who has watched eight family members go blind as a result of AMD. She is being treated in Iowa where Optherion’s Founding Scientist and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Gregory Hageman, is the Entrepreneurial Endowed Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa. He is a pioneer in the role of inflammation and the complement system in the cause and progression of AMD.

The Forbes article cited research by Hageman and others into how AMD is linked to variations of the complement factor H gene, which helps regulate the immune system. The article said: “A half-dozen other biotechs are working on dry AMD, but Optherion controls the patents to Hageman’s ideas, has raised the most early-stage venture funding ($37 million), and is backed by veteran biotech investor David Scheer, who has launched eight companies in 20 years.” Optherion also has patented intellectual property covering other genetics associated with the disease.

The article included a quote from Optherion Chief Executive Officer Colin Foster: “The long bet is that a drug to fix a flawed complement pathway can treat many diseases. ‘The complement system is involved in everything from asthma to heart disease.’ ”

Following is a link to the Forbes article: http://www.forbes.com/business/forbes/2008/0324/076.html