Kodiak Sciences is set to highlight its glaucoma-focused pipeline and innovative clinical-trial technology at the American Chemical Society Fall 2025 Meeting. Senior leaders will share details about the company’s dual-mechanism therapeutic strategy that fuses a novel small-molecule NLRP3 inhibitor with an intraocular pressure (IOP)–lowering agent, both delivered in a single intravitreal injection designed for quarterly dosing. The presentation will place particular emphasis on how this approach targets the underlying optic neuropathy in glaucoma, a field where current approved eye drops effectively reduce IOP but do not directly address neuronal degeneration. Kodiak’s broader agenda also includes showcasing its commitment to modernizing trial design through digital health technologies, notably the VETi program, which aims to improve data richness, testing frequency, and the precision of clinically meaningful endpoints.
Glaucoma, the Global Burden, and the Unmet Medical Need
Glaucoma represents the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, a distinction carried by a disease that quietly progresses until vision loss becomes permanent. An estimated 76 million people globally are affected by glaucoma, underscoring the scale of the public health challenge. The contemporary therapeutic landscape is anchored by eye drops and other IOP-lowering therapies that, while effective at reducing intraocular pressure, do not directly intervene in the optic neuropathy that drives vision loss. This misalignment between what current treatments achieve (lowering a modifiable risk factor) and what ultimately needs to change (neuroprotection and preservation of retinal ganglion cells) highlights a critical gap in care.
The field has long recognized several barriers to meaningful neurological outcomes in glaucoma. Regulatory endpoints for neuroprotection trials can be challenging to define and measure, complicating trial design and interpretation. Additionally, drug-delivery challenges persist for small molecules that target retinal cells, and there is a need for strategies that provide durable biologic effects with convenient dosing. Kodiak speaks to these gaps with a pipeline designed to address both neuroinflammation and optic nerve damage, while also considering practical aspects of patient adherence and treatment burden.
Beyond the biology, a robust advancement in glaucoma care requires a reimagined development pathway. The industry has sought therapies that not only lower IOP but also modify disease progression at the cellular and tissue levels. In this context, Kodiak’s leadership emphasizes two core drivers of glaucomatous optic neuropathy and positions its dual-mechanism approach as a potential path to disease modification. By integrating a neuroinflammation-targeting component with an IOP-lowering mechanism, the company aims to deliver a comprehensive therapeutic package that could translate into more durable preservation of vision for patients.
Dolly S. Chang, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at Kodiak Sciences, has articulated the strategic rationale behind the approach. The company’s emphasis on dual-action therapies reflects a belief that combining mechanisms within a single, patient-friendly delivery modality can address the multifaceted nature of glaucoma. The ABCD platform—standing for Antibody Biopolymer Conjugate Drug technology—serves as the backbone for integrating a novel small-molecule NLRP3 inhibitor with an IOP-lowering agent, delivering both within one intravitreal injection and enabling quarterly dosing. This combination is positioned as a potential diseasemodifying solution for glaucoma optic neuropathy, offering a durable pharmacologic profile within a single therapeutic package.
In addition to therapeutics, Kodiak is placing substantial emphasis on rethinking how clinical trials are designed and conducted. The company is pursuing the integration of digital health technologies to accelerate drug development and improve data quality. The VETi program—Visual Engagement Technology and Imager—illustrates this commitment, reflecting a broader movement toward wearable, AI-enabled tools that can augment ophthalmologic assessment beyond traditional clinic visits. The overarching objective is to generate more precise, repeatable endpoints that better reflect real-world functional outcomes, thereby speeding the evaluation of potential disease-modifying therapies in glaucoma.
Dual-Mechanism Therapeutics: The ABCD Platform and NLRP3-Targeted Neuroprotection
Kodiak’s core scientific strategy centers on a dual-mechanism therapy designed to tackle the two principal drivers of glaucoma optic neuropathy. This innovation is enabled by the Antibody Biopolymer Conjugate Drug (ABCD) platform, which represents a convergence of protein-based and chemistry-based therapeutic concepts. At the heart of this strategy is a small-molecule NLRP3 inhibitor, aimed at mitigating neuroinflammation and consequent optic nerve damage, paired with an intraocular pressure–lowering agent. The two components are delivered together via a single intravitreal injection, with a dosing regimen engineered for quarterly administration. The goal is to create a disease-modifying treatment that not only lowers a modifiable risk factor (IOP) but also directly addresses inflammatory and neurodegenerative pathways that contribute to retinal ganglion cell loss.
This integrated, dual-acting approach is designed to generate a durable pharmacologic effect in patients with glaucoma optic neuropathy. By targeting inflammation and neuroprotection in parallel with IOP reduction, Kodiak seeks to deliver a comprehensive therapeutic outcome that could alter the disease course rather than simply managing symptoms. The strategic rationale is anchored in the belief that addressing multiple pathological processes within the eye can yield synergistic benefits, potentially translating into slower progression of vision loss and improved long-term visual outcomes for patients.
In articulating the scientific rationale, Kodiak emphasizes the unique advantages of delivering both mechanisms in a single intravitreal injection. This approach aligns with the broader industry objective of reducing treatment burden while maximizing pharmacologic exposure to ocular tissues over extended intervals. The combination of a neuroinflammation-targeting small molecule with a robust IOP-lowering agent, housed within the same therapeutic construct, is designed to simplify patient adherence and optimize the pharmacodynamics required for meaningful neuroprotection.
The ABCD platform’s design philosophy centers on enabling multi-mechanism and high drug-antibody-ratio (DAR) medicines. By embedding small molecules and other active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) into Kodiak’s proprietary biopolymer backbone, the platform supports a broad range of potential therapeutic combinations and release profiles. This platform extension is a strategic expansion from the company’s historic focus, reflecting a deliberate effort to leverage past experience in the conjugation of biologics (such as antibodies) while embracing the conjugation of small molecules to achieve multi-target modulation of biological pathways.
VETi: Digital Health-Enabled Trial Acceleration and Endpoint Innovation
Kodiak’s commitment to modernizing clinical trial design is epitomized by the VETi program, the Visual Engagement Technology and Imager initiative. VETi represents the company’s push to incorporate hardware, software, and algorithmic innovations that may enhance the frequency and quality of functional testing in ophthalmology. The program is designed to enable AI- and machine learning-enabled wearable headsets that can capture rich visual engagement data, potentially increasing testing cadence and reducing measurement variability. By improving data precision and reducing noise, VETi aims to unlock the possibility of identifying clinically meaningful endpoints that were previously challenging to quantify in glaucoma trials.
The integration of digital health technologies within glaucoma research aligns with a broader trend toward data-rich, real-world endpoints. Increased testing frequency can help detect subtle changes in retinal function and patient-perceived outcomes, potentially accelerating development timelines and enabling more robust assessments of disease-modifying potential. The wearable headset approach leverages AI and machine learning to interpret complex visual data, offering the possibility of extracting objective biomarkers from continuous monitoring rather than relying solely on intermittent clinic-based assessments. In this context, VETi is positioned as a strategic asset that could improve the interpretability and relevance of trial results, supporting regulatory discussions and potential future approvals.
Within the ACS Fall 2025 presentation, Kodiak will discuss how VETi integrates with the broader ABCD-enabled pipeline. The company will address how digital health technologies may complement traditional pharmacologic endpoints and regulatory considerations, while illustrating how a closed-loop data ecosystem could enhance decision-making in development programs. This emphasis on digital health is designed to appeal to a wide audience of researchers, clinicians, and investors who are seeking a more data-driven framework for evaluating novel ophthalmic therapies.
Presentation Details and Symposium Context
The company’s scheduled presentation is titled Unmet clinical endpoints and therapeutics for retinal diseases: Challenges and innovations. The presenting author is Dolly S. Chang, M.D., Ph.D., Kodiak Sciences’ Chief Scientific Officer. The session is part of a broader symposium on EyeNovation: Small Molecule Drug Discovery for Common Ocular Diseases. The event is set to take place on August 19, 2025, and will occur within the ACS Fall Meeting program in Washington, D.C.
The presentation is timed to fall within a dedicated afternoon window, with remarks planned to run in the mid-afternoon hour. The symposium format is designed to juxtapose challenges in establishing meaningful clinical endpoints with innovative therapeutic strategies that aim to address retinal diseases. The talk is expected to cover the unmet clinical needs in retinal disease management, the limitations of current endpoints, and how the ABCD platform, along with the NLRP3-inhibitor–based approach and the VETi program, could collectively enable new standards in endpoints and therapeutic outcomes.
In addition to the formal presentation, Kodiak will offer slides of the talk, which will be posted on the company’s investor relations site. The emphasis on publicly accessible presentation materials reflects the company’s commitment to transparent dissemination of scientific and clinical strategy to researchers, clinicians, and investors alike. The event underscores Kodiak’s ongoing effort to engage with the scientific community and to articulate how its platform and drug development programs could reshape the landscape for retinal diseases.
About Kodiak Sciences and the ABCD Platform
Kodiak Sciences is a precommercial biotechnology company focused on retinal therapeutics, with a pipeline oriented toward addressing the leading causes of blindness globally. The company’s strategic objective is to bring new science to the design and manufacture of next-generation retinal medicines, aiming to prevent and treat vision loss on a worldwide scale. The ABC Platform—Antibody Biopolymer Conjugate Drug platform—forms the core of Kodiak’s discovery engine. It represents a fusion of protein-based and chemistry-based therapeutic design, enabling the creation of complex biologics and hybrid constructs that can modulate multiple biological pathways relevant to retinal disease.
Kodiak’s family of marks, including Kodiak®, Kodiak Sciences®, ABC®, ABC Platform®, ABCD®, and the Kodiak logo, are registered trademarks or trademarks used by Kodiak Sciences Inc. in various global jurisdictions. The company’s branding highlights its commitment to advancing a unique platform approach that integrates biology with chemistry to address multifactorial ocular diseases.
ABCD Platform and Its Conjugation Capabilities
A distinctive feature of Kodiak’s platform is the extension to embed small molecules—along with other APIs—into the proprietary biopolymer backbone. This architectural choice enables multi-mechanism medicines and supports high drug-antibody ratio (DAR) constructs. The API payloads are designed to be released over time, enabling targeted and tailored modulation of complex biological pathways. The high DAR and modular platform capability offer potential for broad application to multifactorial diseases, with a direct lineage to Kodiak’s established Antibody Biopolymer Conjugate technology and its extensive design, development, and manufacturing experience accumulated over 15 years.
The ABCD Platform marks a strategic expansion beyond historically conjugated biologics, such as antibodies, to include the conjugation of small molecule drugs and other APIs. This extension is designed to broaden the therapeutic versatility of the platform, enabling multi-specific and durable pharmacologic effects that potentially address a wider range of disease mechanisms. The platform’s evolution reflects Kodiak’s intent to leverage its foundational knowledge in biopolymer conjugates while embracing the integration of small molecules to yield multi-targeted, potentially disease-modifying therapies for retinal diseases.
Technical and Strategic Implications of the ABCD Platform
The ABCD Platform is positioned to support multi-mechanism and high-DAR therapeutics, designed to release APIs over time in a controlled manner. This capability aims to achieve comprehensive modulation of ocular pathways, potentially translating into improved therapeutic outcomes for diseases characterized by multifactorial etiologies. By marrying the stability and targeting capabilities of antibody-based conjugates with the pharmacologic diversity of small molecules, the platform aspires to offer a new class of treatments that can address both inflammation and neurodegeneration, in addition to controlling intraocular pressures.
Kodiak emphasizes that the platform extension is a natural evolution of its long experience with antibody biopolymer conjugates. The company’s emphasis on a long track record of design, development, and manufacturing in this space underscores its confidence in translating platform innovations into clinically meaningful therapies. The ABCD Platform is presented as a scalable and adaptable framework, capable of encoding diverse APIs and enabling new combinations of therapeutic actions, all within the same biopolymer-based delivery system.
In communicating the scientific and strategic rationale, Kodiak underscores its vision of delivering therapies with multi-target actions and superior pharmacologic durability. The combination of a high DAR with tailored therapeutic benefits is described as offering broad applicability to multifactorial diseases, going beyond a single mechanism to address intersecting disease processes. The company’s messaging highlights that the ABCD Platform is deeply rooted in a 15-year heritage of platform design, development, and manufacturing excellence, which is intended to lend credibility to the pursuit of novel multi-mechanism treatments for retinal disease.
Forward-Looking Statements: Risks, Uncertainties, and Regulatory Context
This release contains forward-looking statements, which are statements that do not reflect historical facts and involve expectations, plans, or projections about future events or outcomes. These statements may reference the potential of the ABCD platform to develop disease-modifying therapies that target neuroinflammation and optic nerve damage, the prospect of high DAR and tailored therapeutic benefits enabling broad application to multifactorial diseases, and the platform’s capability to incorporate small molecule drugs and other APIs. They may also discuss the anticipated advancement and potential of the VETi program, and other aspects of Kodiak’s strategic roadmap.
Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described. Such risks include, but are not limited to, regulatory challenges, clinical trial outcomes, manufacturing scalability, competitive dynamics in the ophthalmology space, and the inherent uncertainties of drug development. Readers are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs, and actual results may differ due to a wide range of factors. For details on risk factors and other important considerations, refer to the company’s most recent periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and subsequent filings. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements unless required by law.
Broader Context: Implications for Retina Therapeutics and the Market Landscape
Kodiak’s announcements reflect a broader industry push toward disease-modifying therapies in ophthalmology, particularly for degenerative retinal diseases where traditional symptomatic treatments have fallen short of halting progression. The integrated approach of combining neuroprotective mechanisms with IOP management represents a shift in how developers conceive glaucoma therapy, emphasizing the potential for durable, multifaceted interventions that address both functional outcomes and underlying pathology. If successful, a single-injection, long-acting regimen that delivers neuroprotection alongside IOP reduction could offer a meaningful improvement in patient adherence and quality of life, reducing the treatment burden associated with frequent administrations.
The VETi program’s emphasis on digital health aligns with a growing desire to quantify functional vision and patient experience more precisely. By leveraging wearable technology and AI-driven analytics, researchers may gain access to richer data streams that could reveal subtle changes in retinal function and engagement with vision-related tasks. This data-centric approach may also facilitate the development of more robust endpoints, which in turn could influence regulatory discussions and streamline future clinical programs. The convergence of a disease-modifying pharmacologic strategy with advanced data collection and analysis tools embodies a holistic view of drug development, integrating biology, technology, and patient-centered outcomes.
Kodiak’s ACS presentation is expected to contribute to ongoing conversations about how to translate mechanistic insights into clinically meaningful endpoints for retinal diseases. The company’s emphasis on dual mechanisms, combined with platform-level innovations and digital health-enabled endpoints, positions Kodiak at the intersection of therapeutic innovation and measurement science. The outcomes of this work could influence not only glaucoma treatment paradigms but also the broader field of retinal medicine, where the demand for durable, multi-target therapies continues to grow.
Conclusion
Kodiak Sciences is advancing a comprehensive strategy to address glaucoma optic neuropathy through a dual-mechanism therapeutic approach that couples a novel small-molecule NLRP3 inhibitor with an IOP-lowering agent, delivered together in a single intravitreal injection designed for quarterly dosing. The company’s ABCD platform enables the conjugation of small molecules and other APIs to a biopolymer backbone, supporting high DAR and multi-mechanism medicines with release profiles tailored to ocular biology. In parallel, Kodiak is pursuing a transformative shift in clinical trial design through the VETi program, which leverages AI- and ML-enabled wearable technology to improve testing frequency, data quality, and the establishment of clinically meaningful endpoints for retinal diseases.
The upcoming ACS Fall 2025 presentation will feature Dolly S. Chang, M.D., Ph.D., Kodiak’s Chief Scientific Officer, in a session dedicated to addressing unmet clinical endpoints and exploring innovations in retinal therapeutics. The talk, positioned within the EyeNovation symposium focused on small molecule drug discovery for common ocular diseases, will offer insights into the challenges of endpoint development and the potential of dual-mechanism therapies to alter the course of glaucoma. Slides and related materials are expected to be posted on Kodiak’s investor relations site, reflecting the company’s commitment to transparent information sharing with researchers, clinicians, and investors alike.
Kodiak’s broader mission remains to bring transformative retinal medicines to patients while expanding the science and manufacturing capabilities that underpin next-generation therapies. The combination of pharmacologic innovation, platform versatility, and digital health-enabled trial methodologies represents a concerted effort to reshape how retinal diseases are treated, measured, and understood in the years ahead. As the field continues to evolve, Kodiak’s work at the intersection of biology, technology, and patient care will be closely watched by stakeholders seeking durable, patient-centered solutions for glaucoma and other retinal conditions.
