Mar
13
Posted under
Bausch & Lomb,
Blog,
Companies,
Diagnostics,
Funding,
glaucoma,
Medical Devices,
Medical Supply,
NiCox,
Pfizer,
Pharmaceuticals,
Startups,
Universities,
Videos by John Carroll
Shares of France's NicOx spiked on the news that its experimental glaucoma drug licensed to Bausch & Lomb proved positive in a mid-stage study. According to their release two of the four doses used in the trial worked better than Pfizer's (
$PFE) Xalatan to reduce eye-fluid pressure. The upbeat news is a welcome relief for NicOx, which was hammered last year after big regulatory setbacks in the U.S. and Europe for naproxcinod.
Story
Feb
09
Posted under
Altheos,
ATS907,
Blog,
Clinical Trials,
Companies,
Diagnostics,
Funding,
glaucoma,
Medical Devices,
Medical Supply,
Pharmaceuticals,
Startups,
Universities,
Videos by Mark Hollmer
Drug developer Altheos has expanded its Series A round by an additional $12.5 million, just in time for the launch of a Phase IIa dosing trial for its glaucoma treatment.
The South San Francisco startup can now herald the fact that its "A" round raised a not-insignificant $32.5 million. Existing investors Bay City Capital, Novo A/S, Canaan Partners and others contributed the additional bucks. With all the extra cash now in hand, the company says it is well-prepared to complete a Phase II clinical program and head into Phase III for ATS907. The drug is a Rho-kinase inhibitor billed as part of a new class of glaucoma drugs.
Altheos bills the trial as a "first-in-human study" that will test ATS907 to see how safe, well-tolerated and effective it is at different doses over 28 days. About 75 patents with glaucoma or ocular hypertension will take part in the trial's first portion, according to trial details posted on Clinicaltrials.gov. Another 180 patients are envisioned for the second phase, in which they will randomly receive either ATS907 or the drug latanoprost.
In August 2010, the company secured $20 million for what turned out to be the first part of its Series A round. CEO Henry Hsu noted at the time that glaucoma patients haven't had a new class of drug approved in 15 years. ATS907 is designed to lower intraocular pressure, reducing the risk of vision loss as a result.
- here's the release
- check out details of the planned trial
Related Articles:
Glaucoma drug focus inspires $20M A round for Altheos
On a winning streak, Novartis maps bullish ophthalmology R&D strategy