Boehringer Ingelheim partners with Re-Vana Therapeutics to innovate long-acting eye disease treatments, enhancing patient care and compliance.
Boehringer Ingelheim and Re-Vana Therapeutics announced a strategic collaboration effort focused on advancing developments for extended-release therapies of eye-diseases. The collaboration pairs Re-Vana’s extended-release platform with Bohringer’s renown research and development process.
Michael O’Rourke, Re-Vana’s chief executive officer, touched on the impact of the collaboration, saying, “The strategic collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim marks a transformational moment for Re-Vana. By combining our extended-release platform with Boehringer Ingelheim’s world-class research and development capabilities and eye health pipeline, we strive to bring forward a new generation of long-acting treatments for eye diseases that offer clinical and quality-of-life benefits for patients.” 1
Boehringer Ingelheim leads the industry as one of the top investors in research and development for therapies that improve and extend the lives of those in communities struggling with medical care. Boehringer employs its research directly into its diverse pipeline of eye health products including its four Phase 2 testing assets, and the commitment to preserving patient’s retinas. Boehringer believes that preserving the retina can protect a patient’s way of life and prevent vision loss.
Accompanying these beliefs and executions is Queen’s University Belfast spin-out Re-Vana, an ocular therapeutics and innovative ocular drug delivery company. Re-Vana’s ophthalmic disease treatment looks to change the way patients administer treatments by reducing the frequency of injections patients must make directly into their eyes. The drug delivery method is designed to slowly release treatments over the span of six to twelve months providing patients with the benefit of reduced injections.
Re-Vana believes that lowering the number of initial injections can drastically improve patient compliance and in turn reflect improvements in therapeutic results, with Nedim Pipic, global head of mental health, eye health, and emerging areas at Boehringer Ingelheim, saying, “We’re looking forward to team up with Re-Vana to push the boundaries of what’s possible in eye health. Together, we want to tackle the limits of today’s treatments aiming to help people keep their sight, with fewer injections. This partnership is a bold step forward in our mission to protect vision and ease the burden on patients.” 1
Boehringer expects to combine Re-Vana’s drug delivery technology into its established eye-care pipeline, along with three additional projects per year across its therapeutic modalities. The collaboration will see a joint overview of Re-Vana’s productivity and development of the extended-release programs, with Boehringer assuming responsibilities for clinical developments, regulatory approval, and global commercialization.
Official terms of the collaboration agreement grant Boehringer target exclusivity, and expresses that Boehringer must provide upfront developmental, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments to Re-Vana for the targeted three projects annually. The deal has the potential to exceed $1 billion in value dependent on the annual project projections accompanied with any additional royalty payments on product net sales.
