Novartis pays $200m for eye technology
pharmafile | May 22, 2014 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Novartis, eye technology, fovista, ophthotech, wet and
Novartis has bought the rights to licence and commercialise a novel anti-PGDF therapy which it is currently trialling in Phase II with its own Lucentis to ease a common eye problem.
If approved, Fovista (anti-PDGF aptamer), made by Ophthotech Corporation, is expected to be the first to market in this class of therapies for wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).
Novartis believes Fovista offers a new mechanism to improve eyesight and perhaps even slow the progression of the disease – and has put its money where its mouth is, paying Ophthotech $200 million up front for exclusive rights to Fovista outside the US.
In Phase II, Fovista and Lucentis (ranibizumab) combined ‘significantly improved’ baseline visual acuity in wet AMD patients, and there were no new safety signals observed with the combination, compared with Lucentis monotherapy.
Novartis plans to develop Fovista outside the US both as a standalone treatment and as a co-formulation in its pre-filled syringe.
In addition to the upfront payment, Novartis will give Ophthotech future milestone fees, assuming that the treatment develops along the right lines. Ophthotech also stands to receive royalties on Fovista sales outside the US, with the company retaining marketing rights to the brand in the US.
“Novartis is committed to addressing key unmet needs in medical retina,” says David Epstein, Novartis Pharmaceuticals division head. “Fovista in combination with currently available anti-VEGF treatments could further improve outcomes of patients suffering from avoidable vision loss.”
Rights for Lucentis in the US are held by co-developer Genentech, although Novartis has them in the rest of the world.
The drug is licensed for wet AMD and a variety of other conditions, including visual impairment due to diabetic macular edema (DME); and macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO) – as well as to treat eye problems caused by choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to pathologic myopia (myopic CNV).
Novartis’ pipeline includes a next generation anti-VEGF, RTH258, for wet AMD and LFG316 for the treatment of dry AMD.
Adam Hill
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