Glaukos Licenses Iveena's Investigational Keratoconus Therapy

Glaukos announced that it obtained an exclusive global license to develop and market IVMED-80, an experimental pharmacologic therapy for keratoconus from iVeena Delivery Systems.

Under the terms of the agreement, Glaukos made a $10 million advance payment and agreed to cover all expenses related to the development and regulatory work on IVMED-80. The conditions of the agreement include the possibility of receiving royalties on sales to iVeena as well as rewards for development and sales milestones.

IVMED-80 is a proprietary disease modifying topical eye drop with orphan drug designation (ODD) that upregulates lysyl oxidase (LOX) and induces pharmacologic corneal crosslinking to strengthen the cornea and treat keratoconus.

IVMED-80 achieved its primary goal of a statistically significant decrease in baseline-adjusted Kmax of 1.0 D in comparison to placebo in a 6-month phase 1/2a clinical research (P=0.0199; paired longitudinal analysis).

“We are pleased to complete this agreement with Glaukos. This deal validates the technology we have developed at iVeena to induce corneal crosslinking pharmacologically via eyedrops,” iVeena CEO Jerry Simmons said in a company news release. “Glaukos is a strong partner to complete development of this product where, if approved, patients will have an additional keratoconus treatment option.”