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 Ophthotech's shares rose as much as 29 percent in
trading after the bell.
The company said on Monday that a unit of Novartis will market its
lead experimental eye drug, Fovista, outside the United States.
[ID:nBw3hlBzBa]
Ophthotech said it could receive immediate and near-term milestone
payments of up to $330 million and is eligible to get ex-US
marketing approval and sales milestone payments of up to $700
million.
The payments do not include future royalties from sales of the drug
outside the United States, the company said. "The deal validates
Fovista, while importantly allowing the company to retain and fund
the drug’s development and US commercialization," J.P. Morgan
analyst Geoff Meacham said in a note.
Ophthotech is testing Fovista in late-stage studies to treat wet
age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in combination with standard
treatments including Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's Eylea and Roche
Holding AG's Avastin and Lucentis.
Ophthotech said it expects initial data from Fovista's development
program in 2016.
Wet AMD is caused by abnormal blood vessels leaking blood or fluid
into the retina and is the more advanced form of AMD, the most
common cause of blindness in the elderly.
Fovista is
designed to strip cells that wrap around newly-formed blood vessels
in the eye, allowing the standard treatments to inhibit the growth
of new blood vessels.
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Ophthotech said Novartis would develop and market the technology
such as a pre-filled syringe to deliver the injectable eye drug.
The company also said Fovista could be used in a fixed combination
with an experimental treatment of Novartis.
Ophthotech said it will file for approval of the drug in the United
States, and will collaborate with Novartis to seek approval outside
the country.
The company's shares, priced at $22 in its IPO in September, closed
at $31.46 on the Nasdaq on Monday.
(Reporting By Vrinda Manocha in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
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