Othera Pharmaceuticals' Othera (OT)-551 antioxidant eye drop has the potential for chronic treatment of the dry form of age-related macular degeneration. This pilot study of up to 10 eye drop tolerant participants with bilateral geographic atrophy is designed to characterize the effect of 0.45% concentration of OT-551 eye drops given 3 times a day on the progression of geographic atrophy area over a two-year period. Participants will have one eye randomized to receive the eye drop and the fellow eye will be observed only.

Age-related macular Degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in people over age 55 in the U.S., is a heterogeneous clinical entity in which retinal degeneration occurs predominantly in the macula in the context of aging and leads to impairment primarily of central visual acuity. AMD occurs in two general forms, one of which involves subchoroidal neovascularization with subsequent formation of a disciform scar. A second form, and the subject of this study, is termed "dry" or atrophic macular degeneration and involves a constellation of clinical features that can include drusen, pigment clumping and/or retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) dropout, and geographic atrophy. Geographic atrophy can begin as a thinning of the RPE with involvement of the underlying choriocapillaris and lead subsequently to an atrophic change in the macula. The only therapy for persons with atrophic AMD is an oral supplement containing high doses of antioxidants and zinc, which was tested by the National Eye Institute (NEI) in a large, multicenter, double-masked, placebo-controlled clinical trial with average participant follow-up of about 6 years. This antioxidant therapy was shown to modestly retard the progression of dry AMD from an intermediate stage to the advanced stages and demonstrated the benefit of antioxidant therapy in this disease.

In this study, we will evaluate Othera Pharmaceuticals' OT-551 antioxidant eye drop for chronic treatment of the dry form of AMD. This single-center, open-label, study of up to 10 participants with bilateral geographic atrophy is designed to characterize the safety of 0.45 percent concentration of OT-551 eye drops, given 3 times a day, on participants with geographic atrophy area for up to three years. Participants will have one eye randomized to receive the eye drop and the fellow eye will be observed.

Inclusion Criteria

1. Participant must understand and sign the protocol's informed consent document (if the participant's vision is impaired to the point where it is not possible to read the informed consent document, the informed consent document will be read in its entirety to the participant).
2. Participant must be able to administer the eye drops or have a caretaker administer the eye drops.
3. Participant must have geographic atrophy (GA) present in both eyes compatible with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). GA is defined as one or more well-defined, usually more or less circular patches of partial or complete depigmentation of the RPE, typically with exposure of underlying choroidal blood vessels. Even if much of the RPE appears to be preserved and large choroidal vessels are not visible, a round-ish patch of RPE partial depigmentation may still be classified as early GA. The GA in each eye must be able to be photographed in their entirety and not contiguous with any areas of peripapillary atrophy, which can complicate area measurements.
4. Participant must have a steady fixation in the study eye in the foveal or parafoveal area and media clear enough for good quality photographs.
5. Female participants of child bearing potential (those who are not post-menopausal or surgically sterile) may participate if they are not lactating and if they agree to adequate birth control methods.

4.5 Exclusion Criteria

1. Participant is > 60 years of age (to minimize fundus changes from causes other than AMD).
2. Participant is in another investigational study and actively receiving study therapy.
3. Participant is unable to comply with study procedures or follow-up visits.
4. Participant has evidence of ocular disease other than AMD in either eye that may confound the outcome of the study (e.g., diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, etc.).
5. Participant has a chronic requirement (e.g., ≥ four weeks at a time) for ocular medications for diseases, that in the judgment of the examining physician, are vision threatening or may affect the primary outcome (artificial tears are permitted).
6. Participant has evidence of pseudovitelliform macular degeneration that may confound the outcome of the study in either eye.
7. Participant with evidence of vitreo-retinal traction maculopathy that may confound the outcome of the study in either eye.
8. Participant has a history of laser, photodynamic therapy (PDT), intravitreal injection of any agent (e.g., anti-VEGF, triamcinolone, etc.), or any previous treatment for AMD other than AREDS or equivalent supplement formulation in the study eye.
9. Participant has had a vitrectomy, penetrating keratoplasty, trabeculectomy or trabeculoplasty.
10. Participant has undergone lens removal in the last three months.
11. Participant is on chemotherapy.
12. Participant is on ocular or systemic medications known to be toxic to the lens, retina, or optic nerve.
13. Participant with a history of malignancy that would compromise the 2-year study survival.
14. Participant with a history of ocular Herpes simplex virus.
15. Participant with a history of or demonstration of allergy to benzakonium chloride, a preservative agent used in the eye drop.

Adverse event data were collected between December 2006 through May 2010.