Regeneron builds in eye disease tech with Oxular takeover

 Regeneron has bought Oxular, a UK-based specialist in retinal diseases, in a move that bolsters its already strong position in ophthalmology therapies.

News of the takeover came in the form of a LinkedIn post from the UK company's former chief executive Mark Gaffney, now heading up Calluna Pharma, who wrote that the ophthalmology team at Regeneron is "uniquely positioned to maximise the use of Oxular's proprietary technologies." The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

Oxular is working on the development of novel drug/device combinations for sight-threatening retinal disorders, which is a key area of focus for Regeneron. The US biopharma's biggest product is Bayer-partnered Eylea/Eylea HD (aflibercept), which is used to treat diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular oedema (DME) and had global sales of $9.4 billion in 2023.

Buying Oxular gives Regeneron access to a pair of technologies designed to unlock the potential of therapeutics for retinal diseases.

Oxuspheres are polymer-based drug delivery vehicles, small enough to be delivered by injection, that are designed to gradually release the active drug into the retina. They can extend the delivery from a single administration for up to a year and also reduce the chances that it will disperse to affect other tissues in the eye, according to Oxular.

The second technology platform is Oxulumis, a minimally invasive, semi-automated administration device for the delivery of therapeutics to the posterior suprachoroidal space of the eye using an illuminated microcatheter. The device can be used in a doctor's office and prevents release of the drug until the correct placement is confirmed visually.

Oxular's lead programme is OXU-001, a formulation of the corticosteroid dexamethasone that uses both of the company's technology platforms and which recently started the phase 2 OXEYE trial in DME.

The trial, which is in two parts, is designed to evaluate a single administration of suprachoroidal OXU-001 over 52 weeks. Part A is due to enrol 18 patients in the US who have been previously treated with anti-VEGF therapy like Eylea to one of two dose levels of OXU-001.

Part B will recruit 110 DME patients who have either been previously treated with anti-VEGF therapy or are treatment-naïve, who will be randomised to one of the two dose levels of OXU-001 or AbbVie's Ozurdex, a dexamethasone-based implant that has been approved for DME by the FDA for more than a decade.

Gaffney joined Oxular in September 2023, shortly before the start of OXEYE, and said at the time that Oxular was "the only clinical-stage company that is posteriorly delivering sustained-release therapies to the back of the eye, which should allow for fewer injections and a favourable safety profile compared with current treatment options."

https://pharmaphorum.com/news/regeneron-builds-eye-disease-tech-oxular-takeover