Santen and MacuSight to collaborate on sirolimus

Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Japan) and MacuSight Inc. (US) are to collaborate on developing MacuSight's sirolimus to treat ocular conditions including diabetic macular oedema (DME) and wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

According to a statement released by the companies, Santen's rights under the new research and development collaboration and license agreement are restricted to Japanese and Asian markets.Santen granted an initial payment of $50 million to MacuSight to continue its sirolimus R&D activities.

The company is currently beginning a Phase II trial of sirolimus, which has multiple mechanisms of action and has been shown to be effective against a wide range of diseases, including DME, and plans to initiate a Phase II wet AMD study later this year.

Phase I trials of subconjunctival and intravitreal administration showed sirolimus to be safe and well-tolerated in AMD and DME subjects, with concomitant improvement in visual acuity.