GAINESVILLE, Fla., and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:AGTC), a biotechnology company conducting human clinical trials of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapies for the treatment of rare eye diseases, today announced that company management will be participating in three upcoming scientific and industry conferences.
- Ophthalmology Innovation Summit @AAO – Las Vegas (November 12, 2015)
AGTC Chief Scientific Officer Mark S. Shearman, Ph.D. will be presenting during the BioPharma Company Showcase at 10:53am PT. The Ophthalmology Innovation Summit (OIS) is held biannually in conjunction with the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery to support and drive innovation by facilitating meaningful interactions and business partnerships between physicians, entrepreneurs, investors and industry executives who are driving ophthalmic innovation. These summits address key issues impacting ophthalmic innovation while providing a platform to showcase the most promising companies.
- Subretinal/Gene Therapy Innovation Summit – Las Vegas (November 13, 2015)
AGTC Vice President & Chief Medical Officer Jeff Chulay, M.D., DTM&H will join ophthalmology leaders at this inaugural meeting, which will launch a collaborative effort between the Foundation Fighting Blindness, industry, and vitreoretinal surgeons to better define and address the needs associated with the delivery of therapeutics via subretinal surgery in the rapidly emerging space of ocular gene therapy and stem cell transplantation.
- Genetic Rx – Boston (December 3, 2015)
AGTC President & CEO Sue Washer will be featured in a panel discussion entitled, "Moving Beyond Rare Diseases for Genetic Therapies: Is it Feasible?" at 1:20pm ET. The conference, taking place at Harvard Medical School, will bring together academics and key industry leaders to discuss the emergence of new genetic medicines as well as the treatment of patients with rare genetic diseases.
About AGTC
AGTC is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that uses its proprietary gene therapy platform to develop products designed to transform the lives of patients with severe diseases in ophthalmology. AGTC's lead product candidates focus on inherited orphan diseases of the eye, caused by mutations in single genes that significantly affect visual function and currently lack effective medical treatments.
AGTC has a robust product pipeline, including five named ophthalmology development programs across four targets (XLRS, XLRP, achromatopsia and wet age-related macular degeneration), one non-ophthalmology program (alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency) and proof-of-concept data in multiple additional indications. The Company employs a highly targeted approach to selecting and designing its product candidates, choosing to develop therapies for indications having high unmet medical need, clinical feasibility and commercial potential. AGTC has a significant intellectual property portfolio and expertise in the design of gene therapy products including capsids, promoters and expression cassettes, as well as expertise in the formulation and physical delivery of gene therapy products.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect AGTC's plans, estimates, assumptions and beliefs. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies and operations, preclinical and clinical product development and regulatory progress, potential growth opportunities, potential market opportunities and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by terms such as "anticipates," "believes," "could," "seeks," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "potential," "predicts," "projects," "should," "will," "would" or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, due to a number of important factors. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially include, among others: uncertainty inherent in the regulatory review process; uncertainty regarding the ability to achieve the expected benefits from the proposed collaboration, including as a result of risks and uncertainties associated with drug development and commercialization, reliance on third parties over which AGTC may not always have full control and other risks associated with collaborations; and other risks and uncertainties described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, as filed with the SEC. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent management's plans, estimates, assumptions and beliefs only as of the date of this release. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.