Watertown, MA-based pSivida is pocketing a $2.3 million payment from Pfizer as is preps for a Phase I/II study a bioerodible eye implant designed to provide sustained release of latanoprost, a well known glaucoma and ocular hypertension treatment. Under a revised agreement, Pfizer will have an option to take over the program after Phase II in exchange for a $20 million payment, a promise of $146.6 million in combined milestone payments and double-digit royalties on any sales.
"We are extremely pleased that this first application of our new bioerodible drug-delivery technology has entered clinical trials," says pSivida CEO Dr. Paul Ashton. "We look forward to advancing this new delivery system both in glaucoma and potentially in other applications as well."
The product candidate is described as a new, compact drug-delivery implant based on pSivida's Durasert tech. It's designed to be "administered by an eye care professional in a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure; it is also designed to be injected into the subconjunctival space of the eye and to be bioerodible."
Shares of pSivida ($PSDV) were buoyed by today's announcement.
- here's the pSivida release