Omeros Corporation announced that two abstracts directed to OMS906, Omeros' investigational inhibitor of MASP-3, the key activator of the alternative pathway of complement, will be presented at the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), to be held December 9-12, 2023 in San Diego. OMS906 is an investigational human monoclonal antibody targeting mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease-3 (MASP-3), the key activator of the complement system?s alternative pathway. The complement system plays a central role in inflammation and becomes activated as a result of tissue damage or microbial infection.

Responsible for the conversion of pro-complement factor D to complement factor D, MASP-3 is believed to be the premier target in the alternative pathway ? it has the lowest native circulating level and low relative clearance compared to the other alternative pathway proteins and, unlike C5 and C3 blockers, MASP-3 inhibition leaves intact the lytic arm of the classical pathway, important for fighting infection. Also, unlike other components of the alternative pathway, MASP-3 is believed not to be an acute phase reactant, which could provide a significant advantage to MASP-3 inhibitors, like OMS906, over other alternative pathway inhibitors.

MASP-3 inhibitors are thought to have preventive or therapeutic effects across a broad range of diseases including paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), atypical HUS, traumatic brain injury, arthritis, wet age-related macular degeneration, ischemia-reperfusion injury, transplant-related complications and other immune-related disorders.