Potentia Pharmaceuticals Enters Into Licensing And Purchase Option Agreements With Alcon

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24th October 2009, 02:45am - Views: 638






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MEDIA RELEASE PR36735


Potentia Pharmaceuticals Enters into Licensing and Purchase Option Agreements with Alcon


LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --


    -- Alcon takes over development of POT-4 as a treatment for patients with 

                         age-related macular degeneration


           -- Deal provides path for Alcon to acquire Potentia 


    Potentia Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held biotechnology company developing

medicines for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), announced today

that it has entered into licensing and purchase option agreements with Alcon Research,

Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alcon, Inc. (NYSE: ACL). The agreements provide Alcon

with a license to develop Potentia's leading drug candidate, POT-4, for the treatment of

AMD. The agreements also provide for Alcon to acquire the shares of Potentia if

specified development milestones are achieved and if Alcon elects to continue

development of POT-4.


    Alcon will make upfront payments to Potentia for the initial license and option

rights. The agreements also provide for potential future payments to Potentia's

shareholders based on the achievement of multiple clinical and global regulatory

approval milestones for several therapeutic indications and on Alcon's decision to

proceed with development. They also provide for sales-based royalty payments to

Potentia's shareholders on any products that are ultimately approved and commercialized.

Financial terms were not disclosed.


    "Alcon is the proven leader in the clinical development and marketing of eye care

products and compounds.  We could not wish for a better company to develop POT-4 into a

new treatment option for the millions of patients with macular degeneration," said

Cedric Francois, President and CEO of Potentia Pharmaceuticals. 


    POT-4 was the first complement inhibitor to enter the clinic for ophthalmological

use and is being developed as a potential treatment for both dry and wet AMD. Potentia

has completed a Phase I trial for POT-4 in patients with wet AMD.  The trial was

designed to determine the safety and tolerability of an intravitreal injection of POT-4,

as well as its stability and depot-forming properties. In the study investigators

observed only minimal and mild local adverse events related to the injection with no

serious adverse events related the drug itself. The study also found that POT-4 deposits

form at doses of 450 microgram and greater and that the higher the concentration was the

longer the deposits lasted.  


    "There is a body of science supporting the potential for complement inhibitors in

the treatment of retinal disease," said Sabri Markabi, MD, Alcon's senior vice president

of research and development and chief medical officer. "Although at a very early stage,

Potentia has developed the first complement inhibitor for age-related macular

degeneration and positioned it for Phase II trials and we look forward to carrying

development forward with the goal of treating patients with AMD."  



    About POT-4

    POT-4 is a complement inhibitor discovered by Dr. John Lambris of the University of

Pennsylvania, a leading researcher in the field of complement.  POT-4 inhibits

complement factor C3 and interrupts the complement activation cascade. Complement

activation can lead to local inflammation in the eye that is believed to play a pivotal

role in the development of AMD. Potentia has completed a Phase I trial of POT-4 in

Community Health Potentia Pharmaceuticals 3 image

patients with wet AMD. The rights to the technology underlying POT-4 for application

outside of ophthalmology are held by Swiss-based Apellis, AG.


    About AMD

    AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly in the western world and

affects more than 10 million patients in the United States alone. Approximately 10

percent of these patients suffer from the wet form of the disease, while 90 percent

suffer from the dry form. The current standard of care for wet AMD relies primarily on

angiogenesis inhibitors to reduce or reverse the growth of new blood vessels and

bleeding in the back of the eye. No drug has been approved for the treatment of the

remaining patients who suffer from the dry form of the disease.


    About Alcon 

    Alcon, Inc. is the world's leading eye care company, with sales of approximately

$6.3 billion in 2008. Alcon, which has been dedicated to the ophthalmic industry for 65

years, researches, develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, surgical

equipment and devices, contacts lens solutions and other vision care products that treat

diseases, disorders and other conditions of the eye. Alcon operates in 75 countries and

sells products in 180 markets. Alcon's majority shareholder is Nestle, S.A., the world's

largest food company. For more information on Alcon, Inc., visit the Company's web site



    About Potentia

    Potentia Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on developing

novel therapeutics to address ophthalmological diseases.  HealthCare Ventures and MASA

Life Science Ventures are lead institutional investors in Potentia in conjunction with a

number of long-term individual investors and the Kentucky Science and Technology

Corporation.  Potentia is among several companies housed under the umbrella of Nucleus,

Kentucky's Life Sciences & Innovation Center, established in 2008 by the University of

Louisville. WilmerHale and Frost Brown Todd acted as legal advisors to Potentia.


      SOURCE: Potentia Pharmaceuticals

 

     CONTACT: Doug MacHatton, Vice President

              Treasury, Investor and Public Relations 

              +1-817-551-8974

              doug.machatton@alconlabs.com; or


              Pascal Deschatelets, 

              Chief Operating Officer of Potentia Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 

              +1-502-569-1053

              pascal@potentiapharma.com



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