MSD grabs Eyebiotech Ltd for US$1.3bn upfront
US pharma giant Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) is decided to acquire London-based ophtalmology expert Eyebiotech Ltd for upt to US$3bn., US$1.7bn in future milestones.
With the strategic acquisition,which has been unanimously approved by the EyeBio Board of Directors, MSD will take over Eyebiotech’s clinical pipeline of vision loss candidates, including its most developed programme EYE103 (Restoret), which is set to enter a pivotal Phase IIb/III proof of concept trial in H2/2024 for diabetic macular edema (DME). In February, three-year-old Eyebiotech Ltd announced positive results for the compound in a Phase I/Ia study in diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD). The tri-specific antibody acts as an agonist of the Wingless-related integration site (Wnt) signaling pathway that plays a crucial role in regulating proper blood supply to the retina thus satisfying its high metabolic demand. The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the EyeBio Board of Directors.
“The EyeBio team has successfully assembled a pipeline of novel candidates with the potential to provide new treatment options for patients with retinal disease,” said Dr. David R. Guyer, co-founder and CEO of Eyebiotech.
Certain retinal conditions are characterised by both inflammation and breakdown of the inner blood-retinal barrier (iBRB) resulting in vascular permeability and leakage into the neighbouring retinal tissue. Vascular leakage is a known risk factor for retinal diseases including diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD). Despite recent advances in the treatment of DME and DR with anti-VEGFs, effective therapies with new mechanisms of action to address current treatment limitations regarding vessel regeneration and reperfusion of ischemic retinal areas are still needed
Eyebiotech’s lead candidate Restoret is administered as an intravitreal injection seeking to eliminate leakage in retinal vascular diseases by agonising the Wnt pathway with the goal of restoring and maintaining the blood-retinal barrier. Preclinical evidence indicates that boosting the Wnt pathway in the retina has the potential to reduce vascular leakage.
Founded in August 2021 by David Guyer, M.D., and Tony Adamis, M.D., and SV Health Investors, Eyebiotech has built operations in the United States and the United Kingdom. To date, EyeBio has raised US$130m. SV Health Investors founded and seeded the company in August 2021 and were joined in February 2022 by co-leads Samsara BioCapital, Jeito Capital in raising a US$65m Series A financing, with funds from MRL Ventures Fund, the corporate venture arm of MSD/Merck & Co. In November 2023, the Series A round was expanded to $130 million with the addition of new investors Bain Capital Life Sciences, Omega Funds and Vertex Ventures HC.
“As a subsidiary of Merck, EyeBio will be positioned to tap into the resources and infrastructure needed to support the clinical, regulatory and commercial development of these candidates and help bring them to patients worldwide,” Guyer said in a statement.
MSD has had some up and down with its ophthalmology business. Eleven years ago it sold its appropriate pipeline to Akorn Pharmaceuticals in in a US$52.8m deal. In 2022, MSD/Merck ended a partnership with NGM Biopharmaceuticalsfollowing Phase II failure of the anti-complement C3 antibody NGM621 in geographic atrophy.
