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On Tuesday, Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corp revealed that their lead experimental drug Trabodenoson failed a late-stage study of glaucoma. Trabodenoson trial did not achieve the primary endpoint of pre-eminence in the reduction of intraocular pressure compared with placebo at all 12 time points.

The placebo response was two to three mmHg greather than in Phase 2. In the third phase, the trabodenoson did not achieve the adenosine mimetic target for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT).

It was revealed during the trial that trabodenoson lowers the IOP by enhancing the eye's natural outflow of aqueous trabecular meshwork fluid. The fluid pressure is an indicator of glaucoma risk. In day 28 of the trial, 6 percent per 2000 mcg QD dose of trabodenoson was superior to placebo.

Three doses of trabodenoson were tested against a placebo over three-month period. However, the tests were still a failure because the phases' findings were disconnected to the finding from the mid-stage trials. The daily IOP reduction was 4.25 mmHG compared to 5.29 mmHg for the timolol and 2.38 mmHG for placebo.

The World Health Organization confirmed that there is no cure for glaucoma and can be detected through an annual eye examination. However, ophthalmologists suggest undergoing surgical treatment and medical laser to try and fix optic nerve damages.

Inotek unveiled that the company's stocks was down of $17.75 in morning trading and 71 percentage loss on the record shares after announcing the failure of the trial. However, the company assured that trabodenoson's safety profile resulted in minimal hyperemia. 

Inotek is still testing a mixture of trabodenoson with latanoprost to find potential cure for glaucoma.

Glaucoma is an optic nerve damage and vision loss. It is the second leading cause of blindness in the world. The most common symptoms are headache, eye pain, eye redness and sore, vision loss, nausea and vomiting. The strong risk factor for vision loss is age and it is also hereditary.