Telomir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: TELO) announced on September 17, 2026, the publication of a peer-reviewed preclinical study in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Volume 27, Issue 18, Article 8265). The study, titled "Targeted Intracellular Metal Modulation Attenuates Oxidative Stress and Preserves Retinal Integrity and Function in a Zebrafish Model of Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Age-Related Retinal Degeneration," investigated the effects of Telomir-Zn on a model of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The research demonstrated that a 14-day course of oral Telomir-Zn treatment significantly improved visual performance and restored retinal structure in the zebrafish model. Untreated animals exhibited profound visual impairment and retinal degeneration, including loss of photoreceptors and disruption of the retinal pigment epithelium. Following treatment, the study observed a restoration of thickness across multiple retinal layers, including the outer and inner nuclear layers, outer plexiform layer, and ganglion cell layer.
Complementary mechanistic findings indicated that Telomir-Zn reduced mitochondrial oxidative stress and altered intracellular metal homeostasis. The treatment was associated with a dose-dependent increase in relative telomeric DNA content toward the profile of healthy animals and the restoration of altered DNA methylation patterns at selected aging-associated CpG loci. Biochemical assays showed that Telomir-Zn increased intracellular zinc while reducing labile iron and potently inhibited iron-dependent Jumonji C histone demethylases (KDMs), with the strongest activity observed against KDM5B at an IC50 of 63 nM.
The company noted that its clinical development remains focused on oncology, with Telomir-Zn advancing under an FDA-cleared Investigational New Drug application for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Management stated that the retinal findings add to a growing body of research supporting a common biological framework centered on intracellular metal homeostasis and epigenetic regulation.
