New Preclinical Data Show Tazbentetol Reduces Retinal Cell Loss and Preserves Visual Function in Glaucoma and Diabetic Retinopathy Models
LOS ANGELES, May 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Spinogenix, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering first-in-class therapeutics designed to restore synapses to improve the lives of patients, will present this week the results of two new preclinical studies demonstrating the neuroprotective effects of tazbentetol (SPG302) in glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy (DR) models at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting. The presentation builds on the peer-reviewed glaucoma research published recently in Experimental Eye Research.
Glaucoma and DR are leading causes of blindness, affecting approximately 80 and 100 million people worldwide, respectively. Both diseases involve degeneration of the retina. The retina is an extension of the central nervous system that contains excitatory glutamatergic synapses. Like their counterparts in the brain, these synapses in retina are vulnerable to aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Increasing evidence points to synapse loss in the retina as an early feature of glaucoma and DR that contributes to symptoms and progression, raising the possibility that synaptic regeneration may offer a new neuroprotective therapeutic strategy.
“ARVO brings together scientists who are defining the future of vision research, and we look forward to contributing to that conversation with data supporting the use of a novel synaptic regenerative therapy as a potential new approach to neuroprotection in ophthalmic diseases,” said Dr. Stella Sarraf, CEO and Founder of Spinogenix.
The studies to be presented at ARVO evaluated the synaptic regenerative drug tazbentetol in two mouse models: an induced glaucoma model in which intraocular pressure (IOP) is experimentally elevated in mice by intraocular microbead (MB) injection, and a genetic (db/db) mouse model of type II diabetes. These models manifest retinal degeneration and synapse loss in ways that mirror the effects of glaucoma and DR in humans.
Mice in each study received daily tazbentetol (30mg/kg i.p.) or control treatment for eight weeks, during which elevations in IOP (MB mouse) and blood sugar (db/db mouse) were monitored to confirm disease. Mice treated with tazbentetol were found to keep retinal ganglion cells alive in both disease models – the neurons whose death ultimately causes blindness. Beyond survival, the drug preserved synaptic connectivity in the retina, protected the optic nerve, and critically, translated these cellular gains into measurable improvements in visual function. In each model, tazbentetol reversed decreases in pERG amplitude (a reflection of RGC viability) and in the db/db mouse tazbentetol also shortened the latency of the pVEP (a reflection of improved RGC axon conduction). The latter effect may be attributable to both a preservation of axons and the fatty myelin sheath surrounding them that facilitates transmission.
Notably, these neuroprotective effects were observed despite ongoing disease drivers including sustained elevations in IOP in the glaucoma model and hyperglycemia in the diabetic model. Altogether, the findings support the idea that tazbentetol may offer a novel neuroprotective strategy in major causes of blindness.
“It is exciting to learn from these new data that protection of retinal ganglion cells in both glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy can be achieved with the synaptic regenerative drug, tazbentetol,” said Dr. Robert N. Weinreb, Chair and Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology at University of California, San Diego and member of Spinogenix’s scientific advisory board. “I look forward to seeing future studies supporting synaptic regeneration as a new therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes and other conditions.”
About Tazbentetol
Tazbentetol (SPG302) is a once-a-day pill being developed as a regenerative treatment for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases with the unique ability to restore synapses, the key connections between neurons that allow people to think, plan, remember, and control movement. The preliminary evidence of the synaptic regenerative activity of tazbentetol represents a first-in-class approach to treating these diseases and has the potential to reverse declines in cognitive, respiratory, and motor function. Tazbentetol is being evaluated as an investigational therapeutic in Alzheimer’s disease (NCT06427668), ALS (NCT05882695) and Schizophrenia (NCT06442462).
About Spinogenix
Current treatments for neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions primarily focus on slowing disease progression or minimizing symptoms, leaving many without hope for improvement. Spinogenix is aiming to transform the treatment of these conditions through its pioneering first-in-class and paradigm-shifting synaptic regenerative and synaptic corrective therapeutics designed to restore depleted synapses and reverse synaptic degeneration and dysfunction.
Spinogenix is developing two novel therapeutics: Tazbentetol (SPG302), which is designed to trigger neurons to produce new glutamatergic synapses and restore cognitive, motor, and other functions in ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and other diseases; and SPG601, which is designed to work at the synaptic level to correct specific dysfunctions in Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) that underlie many core symptoms. The company has received Orphan Drug designations from FDA and EMA for tazbentetol in ALS as well as FDA Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations for SPG601 in FXS. More information on Spinogenix can be found at www.spinogenix.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
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