Bausch & Lomb signs license, research deals with Cephalon, PTC to develop treatments for blinding conditions

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Dec. 1 - Bausch & Lomb announced Thursday that it has signed a definitive agreement for an exclusive worldwide license from Cephalon, Inc. to develop, market and sell ophthalmic products containing compounds that inhibit angiogenesis.

In a separate announcement, Bausch & Lomb said it signed an agreement with PTC Therapeutics, Inc. for an exclusive option to license selected PTC compounds as development candidates for therapeutic use in ophthalmology.

"We are interested in evaluating the therapeutic potential of small-molecule angiogenesis inhibitors for the treatment of a variety of blinding conditions that either cause or result from the abnormal growth of blood vessels within the eye," said Praveen Tyle, Bausch & Lomb chief scientific officer and senior vice president of Global Research & Development, in a company news release.

The diseases include the wet form of age-related macular degeneration, the No. 1 cause of blindness in the developed world, and diabetic macular edema, Tyle said.

As part of its deal with Cephalon, Bausch & Lomb is responsible for preclinical and clinical development of compounds for use in ophthalmology, officials said.

Bausch & Lomb will make a milestone payment to Cephalon upon regulatory acceptance of a New Drug Application and pay royalties based on product sales, officials said.

Further details of the agreement are confidential, the release said.

The research collaboration with PTC provides Bausch & Lomb with access to a broad range of compounds from PTC's anti-angiogenesis program that are potential candidates for development, officials said.

Officials said PTC has identified promising small-molecule compounds that show anti-angiogenic activity, which means the compounds demonstrate high potency for blocking the abnormal growth of blood vessels.

The goal of the collaboration is to apply Bausch & Lomb's research expertise to develop these compounds as unique therapies for diseases of ocular neovascularization including macular degeneration, officials said.

Financial terms of that agreement also were not disclosed.

Bausch & Lomb is a Rochester, N.Y., eye health company, maker of contact lenses, lens care products and ophthalmic surgical and pharmaceutical products.

Cephalon is a Frazer, Pa., biopharmaceutical company focused on development and marketing of products to treat sleep disorders, neurological disorders, cancer and pain.

PTC is a South Plainfield, N.J., biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small-molecule drugs targeting post-transcriptional control mechanisms.

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