Pfizer Deal With pSivida Could Lead To Ophthalmic Drug Candidates
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Agreement with Australian firm gives Pfizer access to novel, controlled-release drug delivery technology.
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Pfizer could potentially add several new ophthalmic drug candidates to its pipeline under a research and licensing agreement announced April 4 with the Australian bio-nanotech firm pSivida. The deal, valued at up to $165 million, gives Pfizer access to pSivida's controlled-release drug delivery technologies, which include tiny devices barely visible on a fingertip designed to be injected into the eye for the sustained release of medicine. The two firms will also collaborate on developing new ophthalmic treatments, with Pfizer funding the research effort. Pfizer will have worldwide marketing rights to any potential products to come out of the collaboration, while pSivida will be eligible for royalties on sales. Pfizer has agreed to purchase $5 million worth of pSivida stock and invest another $5 million in the future. Development and sales milestones could add another $155 million to pSivida's coffers. One of pSivida's key injectable devices is Medidur , which is designed to be implanted in the back of the eye for 18 to 36 months. In 2005, pSivida licensed Medidur to Alpharetta, Ga.-based Alimera Sciences, which is conducting Phase III trials in collaboration with pSivida using the device to deliver the corticosteroid fluocinolone acetonide to treat diabetic macular edema. pSivida's two marketed products, Retisert and Vitrasert (ganciclovir), are both sold and manufactured by Bausch & Lomb. Retisert is an intravitreal drug implant used to treat uveitis, a cause of blindness, while Vitrasert is used to treat cytomegalovirus retinitis, a potentially blinding viral infection that occurs in AIDS patients. The pSivida agreement is the second major ophthalmic-related deal for Pfizer in the last year. In September, the firm brokered a deal with Fremont, Calif.-based Quark Biotech, gaining a worldwide license to Quark's human RTP-801 gene, which influences development of wet age-related macular degeneration. Preclinical models suggested AMD could be impacted through blocking the expression of the RTP-801 gene through RNA interference (1 (Also see "Pfizer Revs Acquisition Engine; New Management Has $17 Bil. To Spend On Deals" - Pink Sheet, 27 Sep, 2006.)). Pfizer's currently marketed ophthalmology products include Macugen (pegaptanib) for AMD and Xalatan (latanoprost) for glaucoma and ocular hypertension. According to Pfizer's pipeline chart, as of Dec. 20, the only ophthalmology candidate in the clinic is AG-13958, in Phase II for AMD. - Jonathan M. Block ([email protected]) |