Privately held biotechnology company Potentia Pharmaceuticals said it has entered into licensing and purchase option agreements with Alcon Research, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of eye care company Alcon, Inc. (ACL), by which Alcon will be provided a license to develop Potentia's drug candidate POT-4 for treatment of age-related macular degeneration, or AMD. Financial terms were not disclosed.
As per the transaction, Alcon will acquire shares of Louisville, Kentucky-based Potentia if specified development milestones are achieved and if Alcon elects to continue development of POT-4. Fort Worth, Texas-based Alcon will be making upfront payments to Potentia for initial license and option rights.
The agreements also provide for potential future payments to shareholders of Potentia based on achievement of multiple clinical and global regulatory approval milestones for several therapeutic indications and on Alcon's decision to proceed with development. The deals also provide for sales-based royalty payments to Potentia's shareholders on any products that are ultimately approved and commercialized.
POT-4 is a complement inhibitor discovered at University of Pennsylvania. The drug candidate is being developed as a potential treatment for both dry and wet AMD.
AMD is one of the main causes for blindness in the elderly and which affects over 10 million patients in the U.S. alone. Nearly 10% of the patients suffer from wet form of AMD, while 90% suffer from dry form. Potentia said the current standard of care for wet AMD relies primarily on angiogenesis inhibitors to lower or reverse the growth of new blood vessels and bleeding in the back of the eye.
Potentia added that it has completed a Phase I trial for POT-4 in patients with wet AMD. The trial was designed to determine safety and tolerability of an intravitreal injection of POT-4, along with its stability and depot-forming properties. In the study, only minimal and mild local adverse events were observed with regard to injection, said Potentia.
Alcon's chief medical officer and senior vice president of research and development Sabri Markabi said, "Although at a very early stage, Potentia has developed the first complement inhibitor for age-related macular degeneration and positioned it for Phase II trials and we look forward to carrying development forward with the goal of treating patients with AMD."
ACL is currently trading at $147.46 per share, up 0.13%, on the New York Stock Exchange.
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