EyePoint Pharmaceuticals has signed an exclusive license agreement with Equinox Science to develop vorolanib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR) and retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Vorolanib is being developed as EYP-1901 utilizing Eyepoint’s bioerodible Durasert technology, a miniaturized, injectable, sustained-release intravitreal drug delivery system with a 6-month duration. The Company recently completed a positive Type B pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clarifying the pathway for a phase 1 clinical trial. The Company expects this phase 1 trial to provide data in the second half of 2021.
“EyePoint is dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative treatments for ocular diseases, and we are very excited about the potential for EYP-1901 as a vital, new six-month treatment for serious eye diseases, including wet AMD, DR and RVO.” said Nancy Lurker, President and Chief Executive Officer of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals. “We are encouraged by the potential of vorolanib, as it demonstrated a promising Phase 1 and Phase 2 efficacy signal in prior human wAMD studies as an oral therapy and in preclinical animal studies as intravitreal EYP-1901. Our proven Durasert technology provides the unique opportunity to investigate EYP-1901 as a six-month treatment option for patients that also has the potential to avoid the frequent injections required for currently available biologics. We look forward to providing updates on the progress of this important program.”
“We are very pleased with the signing of this license agreement with EyePoint Pharmaceuticals,” said Lieming Ding, M.D., Chairman of Equinox’s Board of Directors. “We believe that combining vorolanib with EyePoint’s bioerodible Durasert technology will deliver an exciting new treatment option for patients suffering from wet-AMD, DR and RVO.”
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Under the terms of the agreement, EyePoint is responsible for the development and worldwide (excluding China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan) commercialization of EYP-1901. The Company will make an upfront payment of $1 million to Equinox Science and pay developmental and regulatory milestones and post-commercialization royalties.
Wet AMD, RVO and DR are leading causes of vision loss and are most commonly treated with intravitreal injections of biologics that block the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) molecules that play a central role in the abnormal retinal blood vessel growth leading to disease recurrence.
FDA-approved biologic treatments for these diseases are injected into the eye as frequently as monthly but real world outcomes typically have fewer injections and lead to progressive visual acuity loss.
Wet AMD is the leading cause of vision loss among people 50 years of age and older in the United States. Wet AMD affects the macula where abnormal blood vessels grow while leaking blood and fluid, which results in damage and scarring of the macula and vision loss.