Bright future for NicOx after Pfizer glaucoma deal
pharmafile | March 10, 2006 | News story | Research and Development |
Shares in the French biotechnology company NicOx have soared after Pfizer snapped up the rights to its pipeline of ophthalmology drugs.
The $385 million deal is the biggest ever for NicOx, which specialises in new drugs which 'donate' to the body nitric oxide, a messenger chemical which plays a key role in many tissues.
Researchers believe a deficiency in the production of nitric oxide is related to certain diseases and that supplementing levels will help restore normal body functions.
NicOx's most advanced molecule is a phase III treatment for osteoarthritis, but Pfizer has identified ophthalmology as being a particularly promising area.
The US giant has bought the exclusive rights to any drugs which emerge from NicOx's ophthalmology pipeline, having decided to commit to the alliance after promising results from pre-clinical trials.
Martin Mackay, senior vice-president of worldwide research and technology at Pfizer welcomed the new alliance.
"We believe NicOx's nitric oxide-donating technology has the potential to generate promising new drug candidates for a broad range of eye diseases, a number of which currently have no effective treatment. Our existing collaboration with NicOx has produced very encouraging results and we are pleased to now have exclusive access to NicOx's nitric oxide-donating technology in all ophthalmic indications to broaden our investigations of this important area."
The companies have just released data from a pre-clinical trial of a new treatment for glaucoma, which showed NicOx's drug to be superior to an unnamed existing drug.
Glaucoma is common in patients with severe nearsightedness, diabetes and previous eye injury and is a leading cause of blindness, with an estimated 70 million sufferers worldwide.
The condition is frequently linked to high intraocular pressure (IOP) or pressure within the eye caused by a blockage or malfunction of the eye's drainage system.
Pfizer is already established in the field of ophthalmology and its Xalatan and Xalacom products are the biggest selling in the world, earning combined sales of $1.3 billion in 2005, up 12% on the previous year.
Alcons Travatan and Allergans Lumigan are two other top-selling glaucoma products and are also enjoying fast sales growth.
