Ophthalmology Therapeutic Roundup — September 15, 2016

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

• Allergan plc has acquired RetroSense Therapeutics LLC — a private, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on novel gene therapy approaches to restore vision in patients suffering from blindness. The transaction also includes RetroSense's RST-001 novel gene therapy for the potential treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), and reinforces Allergan's continued investment in new products to treat diseases and conditions with significant unmet patient need. Additionally, Allergan plans to present data during the Retina Society 49th Annual Scientific Meeting this week in San Diego regarding diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
• Clinical-stage pharmaceutical company Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Rhopressa™ (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) 0.02% — a novel once-daily eye drop designed to lower intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The filing includes the results of the first two Phase 3 registration trials for Rhopressa, named Rocket 1 and Rocket 2.
• PRN Physician Recommended Nutriceuticals was recently awarded a second patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its Dry Eye Omega Benefits® nutriceutical product. The method patent reportedly improves outcomes for patients suffering from occasional dry eye symptoms by enabling the body to better absorb nutrition essential for healthy vision maintenance. 
• Plex Pharmaceuticals has been awarded a two year SBIR Phase I grant of $299,173 from the National Eye Institute (NEI) to find non-surgical treatments for cataracts. Under this funding, Plex will reportedly employ its proprietary fragment-based screening technology combined with in silico and structure-based drug design to discover small molecule lead candidates targeting the small heat shock protein-27s (sHSP27) — also known as alpha-crystallins (AC's) — that are one the major components of the eye lens that help maintain its transparency. Loss of AC function leads to aggregation of damaged and/or aged proteins leading to the formation of cataracts.
• And biopharma company GenSight Biologics has been granted orphan drug designation (ODD) by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its product candidate GS030 for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa. Additionally, the EMA also granted Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) classification to GS030. And GenSight also announced regulatory agencies and ethics committees in the U.S., France and the U.K. have authorized a protocol amendment to include teenage patients (15-18 years) in RESCUE and REVERSE — two ongoing Phase III clinical trials of GS010 in the treatment of Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON).