Pablo Villoslada, MD, PhD, Founder and Medical Director of Accure Therapeutics and Head of Pathogenesis and New Therapies MS at IDIBAPS in Hospital Clínic in Barcelona, discusses results from the ACUITY clinical trial testing privosegtor to treat patients with acute optic neuritis (AON). The data was recently presented at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting (AAN 2026) in Chicago, IL.
AON is an inflammation of the optic nerve that can be caused by different systemic and neurological disorders. It is commonly presented as a subacute unilateral painful vision loss. It may also present in the setting of different systemic and neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, and myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease. The exact underlying cause of AON is unknown but it is believed to have autoimmune involvement.
The ACUITY phase 2 multi-center, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of privosegtor in AON. Privosegtor is a peptoid small molecule that has demonstrated neuroprotective activity.
A total of 33 patients were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. Improvement in low contrast visual acuity (LCVA) compared to placebo with privosegtor 3 mg/kg/day was 18.2 letters at month 3, and 14.8 letters at month 6. There was a 43% reduction in ganglion cell/inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thinning compared to placebo at months 3 and 6, and a 28% and 30% reduction in retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thinning at month 3 and month 6, respectively.
Mean plasma neurofilament-light (NfL) concentrations remained stable from baseline to month 1 at 7.6 µg/ml and month 6 at 5.8 µg/ml with privosegtor. The placebo group showed a significant increase from baseline (8.6 µg/ml) at month 1 (14.6 µg/ml), followed by a steady decline to month 6 (9.3 µg/ml).
Privosegtor was generally well-tolerated and adverse events showed no differences in incidence between groups, with no drug-related serious adverse events.
For more information on AON and other rare ophthalmology conditions, visit https://checkrare.com/diseases/ophthalmology-eye-diseases/