Assistant

Five months after closing a Series A round and in-licensing its first two programs aimed at treating back-of-the-eye diseases, Ophthotech Corp. picked up rights to develop volociximab, PDL BioPharma Inc.'s anti-angiogenic candidate, for use in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Terms of the licensing deal grant Ophthotech worldwide rights to the antibody in ophthalmic uses in exchange for undisclosed development milestone payments and royalties on product sales to Fremont, Calif.-based PDL and Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Idec Inc., which partnered with PDL in a potential $800 million multi-product deal in 2005. Both PDL and Biogen also will receive equity positions in Ophthotech.

Samir Patel, CEO of Princeton, N.J.-based Ophthotech, said he could not disclose specific financial terms but told BioWorld Today the firm was "very excited" to add volociximab to its pipeline and that the compound fits well within its aim of finding "molecular entities with extremely strong science" for treating forms of macular degeneration.

Volociximab targets alpha5beta1 integrin, which "plays a key role in angiogenesis," Patel said. PDL and Biogen have advanced the antibody successfully into Phase II in solid tumors, but preclinical data suggested volociximab might also work well against the neovascular form of AMD, which is caused by the proliferation of blood vessels in the retina.

Ophthotech intends to explore volociximab's potential both as a monotherapy and in combination with anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) drugs such as South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc.'s Lucentis (ranibizumab), Patel said.

"We're going to have to do some preclinical work in the eye," he said, but "we should be able to get to the clinic soon." Patel would not provide a specific development timeline for entering the clinic but said "perhaps by the end of the year."

Ophthotech was formed last year by Patel and David Guyer, former co-founders of New York-based Eyetech Pharmaceuticals Inc., the firm responsible for introducing Macugen (pegaptanib sodium), the first anti-VEGF wet AMD therapy, to the market. Eyetech later was bought out in late 2005 by Melville, N.Y.-based OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a $935 million deal, despite the fact that interest in Macugen, which made a strong commercial debut after its 2004 approval, dropped sharply upon the FDA's approval of Genentech's Lucentis in mid-2006.

But even with the success of Lucentis - worldwide sales totaled about $320 million for the third quarter of 2007 - Patel said Ophthotech "strongly believes that [AMD] is a very compelling market," with plenty of opportunities to offer improved treatments in the wet AMD space, including finding ways to enhance the efficacy of existing anti-VEGF therapies.

For dry AMD, which represents the earlier stage of the disease and comprises about 90 percent of all AMD cases, there still are few treatment options for patients. All told, AMD is estimated to affect about 8 million people in the U.S. and 8 million people in Europe.

Besides volociximab, Ophthotech's pipeline includes an anti-platelet-derived growth factor (anti-PDGF) aptamer, set to begin clinical testing in wet AMD, and an aptamer program (ARC 1905) that targets the C5 component of the complement cascade for treating both wet and dry forms of the disease.

The anti-PDGF aptamer program was licensed from OSI, and Ophthotech gained rights to the anti-C5 aptamer in a deal with Cambridge, Mass.-based Archemix Corp.

For now, Ophthotech holds sole rights to its ophthalmic pipeline. "In the future, we will certainly need partners for some components" of commercialization, Patel said, "but right now, we're focused on developing the programs through proof of concept."

The privately held firm's operations are funded by a $36 million Series A round closed in August, with investments from SV Life Sciences, HBM BioVentures and Novo A/S. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 14, 2007.)

In other deals news:

• Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Mateo, Calif., licensed from Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen Inc. exclusive worldwide rights to AMG 623, a peptide fusion protein, in systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune diseases. AMG 623, which is designed to bind to B-cell activating factor, has completed Phase Ib studies. Anthera anticipates starting Phase II trials this year. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• NicOx SA, of Sophia Antipolis, France, extended its March 2006 collaboration with New York-based Pfizer Inc. for one year, which resulted in €3 million (US$4.4 million) to NicOx in research funding and also prolongs Pfizer's option to license resulting compounds until May 2009. The deal gives Pfizer the exclusive rights to apply NicOx's nitric oxide-donating technology to drug discovery research in ophthalmology, and the most advanced project to date, has yielded encouraging in vitro and in vivo results against a prevalent eye disease. (See BioWorld Today, March 3, 2006.)

• Yissum Ltd., of Jerusalem, the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University, licensed an oral, small molecule for conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases to Eucalyptus Ltd. The molecule, AD4 (N-acetylcysteine amide), is an antioxidant designed to overcome the blood-brain barrier. Under the terms, Yissum, together with the technology transfer arms of Tel Aviv University and Clalit Health Services, will receive up-front payment, plus milestones and royalties. Specific terms were not disclosed.