Date: 2016-09-06
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: RetroSense Therapeutics (USA - MI)
Acquiring company: Allergan (Ireland)
Amount: $60 million and undisclosed milestone payments
Terms: * On September 6, 2016, Allergan and RetroSense Therapeutics, a private, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on novel gene therapy approaches to restore vision in patients suffering from blindness, announced that Allergan has acquired substantially all of the assets of RetroSense in an all-cash transaction. Under the terms of the transaction, Allergan has paid RetroSense a $60 million upfront payment, and has agreed to potential regulatory and commercialization milestone payments related to its lead development program, RST-001, a novel gene therapy for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa .
Details: RetroSense Therapeutics is developing life-enhancing gene therapies designed to restore vision in patients suffering from blindness due to retinitis pigmentosa and advanced dry age-related macular degeneration. The Company's approach to using optogenetics in vision restoration is based on proprietary research conducted at Wayne State University and Massachusetts General Hospital. RetroSense Therapeutics is developing RST-001 as a first-in-class gene therapy application of optogenetics. Optogenetics refers broadly to means of conferring light sensitivity to cells that were not previously, or natively, light sensitive. By applying optogenetics to retinas in which rod and cone photoreceptors have degenerated, RetroSense is working to confer new light sensitivity to the retina, with the expectation of some degree of improved or restored vision for affected patients. In 2014, RST-001 received an orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa.
The RST-001 optogenetic approach employs a photosensitivity gene, channelrhodopsin-2, to create new photosensors in retinal ganglion cells to potentially restore vision in retinal degenerative conditions. In August 2015 , RetroSense's Investigational New Drug (IND) application for RST-001 received clearance from the FDA. In March 2016 , RetroSense initiated a Phase I/IIa clinical trial to evaluate the safety of RST-001 in patients being dosed, and in August 2016 , the low dose cohort of patients had been safely dosed.
Last August, the company has been granted U.S. patent Application No. 11/036,629, entitled “Method for Augmenting Vision in Persons Suffering from Photoreceptor Cell Degeneration.” RetroSense is the exclusive licensee of this intellectual property for augmenting vision from photoreceptor cell degeneration through a license with Massachusetts General Hospital. This patent broadly covers methods for restoring or improving vision using optogenetic approaches. The allowed claims cover the use of a broad range of opsins and rhodopsins in vision restoration.
Related: Ophtalmological diseases Gene therapy
