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Ista licenses rights to glaucoma medications
IRVINE, Calif. — Ista Pharmaceuticals has licensed two potential treatments for glaucoma from Japan’s Senju Pharmaceuticals, the company said in a news release.
The first product candidate, iganidipine, is a calcium channel blocker and the second product is a new formulation of latanoprost. Calcium channel blockers are a new class of compounds not previously approved for glaucoma, the company said.
Under terms of the iganidipine agreement, Ista will pay Senju upfront payment and aggregate development and approval milestones equal to about $8 million, the release said.
Early studies on iganidipine indicate it “may have the ability to enhance ocular blood flow, lower IOP and inhibit the progression of visual field defects,” Ista said in the release. Ista plans to initiate a phase 2 clinical study on the compound in 2007, the release said.