QLT signs development, licensing deal with Retinagenix for ocular synthetic retinoid program

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, April 5 - QLT Inc. said Wednesday that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide co-development and licensing agreement with Retinagenix, LLC to develop active synthetic retinoid products to treat degenerative retinal diseases.

Under the agreement, QLT said it will develop and commercialize products for use in ocular and other human diseases, according to a company news release.

Retinagenix said it will participate in research in support of the co-development collaboration and be eligible to receive an upfront payment of $1.5 million and payments upon achievement of certain development, approval and sales milestones as well as a single digit royalty on net sales.

"This collaboration is the first step forward in our strategy to access, develop and commercialize promising new technologies in the eye, which is QLT's core area of therapeutic expertise. We plan to progress the first drug candidate from the Retinagenix collaboration into the clinic within the next 18 months," Bob Butchofsky, president and chief executive officer of QLT, said in the release.

Synthetic retinoid drugs use biochemical strategies for restoring visual function in retinal degeneration, officials said, as well as aging retina. Genetic diseases in the eye such as Leber Congenital Amaurosis and Retinitis Pigmentosa arise from gene inactivation and subsequent disruption of a metabolic pathway, officials said.

These same pathways are adversely affected in the natural aging process and may play a role in aging visual deficits including age-related macular degeneration.

Retinagenix said its preclinical studies have demonstrated that orally administered synthetic retinoid drugs, cause long-lasting restoration of retinal function.

QLT is a Vancouver, B.C., biopharmaceutical company specializing in developing treatments for eye diseases as well as dermatological and urological conditions.

Based in Seattle, Retinagenix is a privately held, early stage company developing and commercializing synthetic retinoids to treat retinal diseases. The company is a spin-off of the University of Washington.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.