Ophthalmology Therapeutic Roundup — September 22, 2016

Here's a look at some of the latest news regarding ophthalmic drugs and therapies from the past week. 

• Clinical-stage pharmaceutical company Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently reported successful 90-day primary efficacy results of its 12-month Phase 3 "Mercury 1" clinical trial for its fixed-dose combination product candidate, Roclatan™ (netarsudil/latanoprost ophthalmic solution). The study evaluated patients with maximum baseline intraocular pressures (IOPs) ranging from above 20 to below 36 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). The IOP-lowering effect of Roclatan was reportedly 1 to 3 mmHg greater than monotherapy with either latanoprost or Rhopressa™ throughout the duration of the study. And Aerie also recently announced it has raised $125 million in public offerings, which will reportedly be used for general corporate purposes, including the complete funding of Rhopressa commercialization costs, execution of clinical trials in Japan, commencement of construction of a manufacturing plant in Ireland and continuation of preclinical activity in support of its product pipeline.
• Earlier this week, Lubris BioPharma announced positive results of a clinical trial that showed recombinant human lubricin demonstrated significant improvement in both signs and symptoms of dry eye disease compared to sodium hyaluronate (HA). During the study, subjects receiving lubricin reportedly experienced greater than a 70 percent reduction in their symptoms from baseline. The results of the study were published in the September issue of The Ocular Surface.
• Private biotechnology company Eyevensys has raised a total of €9 million in capital after a Series A extension. The funds will reportedly be used to secure the clinical development of its lead product candidate EYS606 — reportedly the first non-viral product that has the potential to treat Non-Infectious Uveitis (NIU) patients for up to six to 12 months following one injection. EYS606 is expected to enter into an open-label Phase Ib study in premier ophthalmological centers in France and in the UK by the end of 2016 as a potential treatment for NIU.
• Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced the publication of a peer-reviewed manuscript on the potential use of Ampion™ in new clinical indications. The paper, "The low molecular weight fraction of commercial human serum albumin induces acetylation of α-tubulin and reduces transcytosis in retinal endothelial cells," was published in the journal Biochemical Biophysical Research Communications and reports on findings that may be important for the treatment of diseases such as diabetic macular edema and neovascular wet age-related macular degeneration.
• Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. recently presented preclinical data on two new gene therapy candidates — ADVM-022 and ADVM-032 — at The Retina Society 2016 Annual Meeting in San Diego. Both ADVM-022 and ADVM-032 utilize a novel vector designed to allow for intravitreal rather than the more invasive surgical subretinal delivery to potentially treat wet AMD (wAMD) as well as other retinal conditions associated with VEGF over-expression.
• BioMotiv, LLC recently announced it has expanded its strategic partnership with Biogen to include the ophthalmology therapeutic area, in addition to its existing neurology partnership. This discovery collaboration will reportedly leverage the strengths of both organizations to identify pioneering ophthalmic discoveries and advance them into medicines.
• EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced it had received an additional development milestone from a subsidiary of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. under the company’s License Agreement with Valeant, pursuant to which EyeGate has granted Valeant exclusive, worldwide commercial and manufacturing rights to the Company’s EyeGate® II Delivery System and EGP-437 combination product in the field of uveitis, as well as a right of last negotiation to license the Product for other indications.
• And biopharmaceutical company NovaBay® Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has received a CE Mark and ISO 13485 certification for its Neutrox® product line, which includes its Avenova® lid and lash hygiene product.