Bausch + Lomb has abandoned its next great hope in glaucoma after the eye drops flunked a phase 2 study.
The eye health company had been evaluating the alpha-2B agonist, dubbed BL1107, in a mid-stage study of 159 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The aim of the study was to show an improvement in visual sensitivity from baseline at Day 28.
Despite a smaller phase 1/2a study suggesting BL1107’s “intriguing” potential, Bausch + Lomb disclosed in a post-market release July 9 that the latest phase 2 trial had missed its primary endpoint. The news wasn’t any better for key secondary endpoints assessing visual function.
As a result, the Canadian company will abandon its attempts to develop these eye drops for glaucoma-related vision improvement.
Bausch + Lomb already markets various glaucoma eye drops, including a latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution called Vyzulta and a timolol maleate ophthalmic solution sold as Istalol. BL1107 was seen as the company’s next big hope in the space after the pharma took charge of the alpha-2B agonist as part of its $28 million upfront acquisition of Whitecap Biosciences last year.
As well as BL1107, the deal brought in a sustained-release implant version of the alpha-2B agonist dubbed WB006 for the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA). At the time, Bausch + Lomb said Whitecap’s two investigational medicines showed “real promise when it comes to slowing vision loss and perhaps even improving vision for patients with glaucoma, which would be a long-overdue breakthrough.”
Bausch + Lomb said yesterday that in the wake of BL1107’s failure, the company will now move its focus to developing this implant.
Clinical trials for the implant are set to kick off in 2028, said Bausch + Lomb, which plans to collaborate on the candidate with Ripple Therapeutics to make use of the biotech’s controlled-release drug tech.
If Bausch + Lomb has better luck with this indication, it could eventually bring to market the first small-molecule sustained-release implant for GA, an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration where cells in the retina's macula die off.
“Success in drug development is based on a portfolio, not a single program,” Bausch + Lomb’s Chief Medical Officer Yehia Hashad, M.D., said in yesterday’s release.
“We’ve intentionally built a diversified pipeline because we know innovation requires pursuing multiple scientific hypotheses simultaneously,” Hashad added. “Not every program will succeed, but every study helps us make smarter decisions about where to invest.”