After announcing in April that it would discontinue development of its lead candidate, sozinibercept (OPT-302), in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Opthea Ltd. has come to a settlement agreement that will allow it to avoid bankruptcy and continue operations.
Remegen Co. Ltd. is out-licensing its VEGF/FGF dual-target fusion protein drug, RC28-E, to Santen Pharmaceutical (China) Co. Ltd. in a carve-out deal worth more than ¥1.3 billion (US$180 million).
Aussie gene therapy company Mirugen Pty Ltd. has emerged from stealth mode from the Center for Eye Research Australia in Melbourne, toting a AU$4.5 million (US$2.9 million) seed round that will see it optimize its lead candidate to treat retinitis pigmentosa.
Torrent Pharmaceutical Ltd. will buy J. B. Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (JB Pharma) from private equity firm KKR & Co. Inc. at an equity valuation of ₹256.89 billion (US$3 billion), which will then merge into one entity under Torrent Pharma.
Innovent Biologics Inc.’s efdamrofusp alfa (IBI-302) met the primary endpoint in phase II, showing a gain of 10 or more letters in visual acuity from baseline at one year in Chinese patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
After announcing that lead candidate sozinibercept (OPT-302) failed the phase III Coast trial in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Opthea has now decided to close the Coast trial as well as the Shore trial. As reported by BioWorld, Opthea announced last week that it was considering its options after lead candidate sozinibercept (OPT-302) failed the phase III Coast trial in wet AMD.
Opthea Ltd. is considering its options after lead candidate sozinibercept (OPT-302) failed the phase III Coast trial in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The global Coast phase III trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of intravitreally administered 2-mg sozinibercept every four or eight weeks in combination with 2-mg aflibercept every eight weeks after a loading phase for the treatment of wet AMD. The trial did not meet its primary endpoint of mean change in best corrected visual acuity from baseline to week 52.
China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved the country’s first injectable teprotumumab biosimilar from Innovent Biologics Inc. under the brand name of Sycume (teprotumumab N-01) to treat thyroid eye disease on March 14. The NMPA on March 15 accepted Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.’s NDA of deunoxavir marboxil (ADC-189) tablets, a product originally developed by Jiaxing Andicon Biotech Co. Ltd. to treat influenza A and B.
Olix Pharmaceuticals Inc. walked the talk in realizing a new $630 million licensing deal with Eli Lilly and Co. for its cardiovascular and metabolic disease asset, OLX-702A (OLX-75016), rallying stock by 30% after it had largely recovered from a terminated deal with France’s Théa Open Innovation last year.
Certa Therapeutics Pty Ltd. has acquired Occurx Pty Ltd. in a move to strengthen its pipeline to target multiple fibrotic diseases as both companies share a focus on targeting GPR68, a defined G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) receptor that mediates signaling pathways associated with inflammation and fibrosis and is thought to be a master switch of fibrosis.