Oyster Point Pharma announces collaboration with Adaptive Phage Therapeutics (APT) to target ophthalmic diseases
Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: OYST), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies to treat ocular surface diseases, today announced a newly formed research collaboration with Adaptive Phage Therapeutics (APT) to leverage APT’s PhageBank™ technology for the development of potential treatments for multiple ophthalmic diseases.
APT’s PhageBank™ technology is engineered as an ever-expanding library of bactericidal agents, called bacteriophages (“phages”), to provide broad spectrum coverage. Phages, also are viruses found in the natural environment that infect and replicate specifically in bacteria. Once a bacteriophage attaches to a susceptible bacterium it causes the host cell to die, releasing new bacteriophage to infect other bacteria. APT’s approach provides expanded bacterial coverage where prior, traditional, antibiotic approaches have diminished coverage or have become obsolete due to emerging antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Oyster Point Pharma has the option and certain rights to obtain an exclusive license to develop and commercialize APT’s PhageBank™ technology for ophthalmic diseases or disorders. Under the license terms, if such option is exercised, Oyster Point Pharma has agreed to pay APT potential development and regulatory milestones, as well as the potential for sales-related milestones and tiered royalties of net sales, if a licensed phage therapy is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). APT retains production rights to PhageBank™ and will supply Oyster Point Pharma product at an agreed upon cost-plus model.
“We are excited to be partnering with Oyster Point Pharma, an innovation leader in developing therapeutics for the treatment of ocular surface disease and working together to potentially bring new much-needed therapies to a variety of unmet medical needs in the ophthalmic field,” said Greg Merril, APT’s CEO and co-founder. “The plan is to design these ophthalmic therapies as the first evergreen antimicrobials to potentially enter the ophthalmic market. As the targeted bacterial pathogens develop resistance, APT plans to dynamically optimize the formulation with its PhageBank™ technology to avoid product obsolescence that has previously plagued antibiotics.”
“Antibiotic resistance of bacterial pathogens and the formation of antibiotic resistant biofilm in the eye are a serious and growing problem, made more acute by the possibility of blindness where patient infections cannot be effectively treated using conventional approaches,” said Jeffrey Nau, Ph.D. M.M.S., president and chief executive officer of Oyster Point Pharma. “By partnering with APT, we plan to utilize the company’s innovative PhageBank™ technology to potentially develop treatments for ophthalmic indications. Effective treatments are needed for ophthalmic bacterial infections today as well as antibiotic resistant eye disease that may develop in the future.”
Oyster Point Pharma plans to discuss additional details at the upcoming Analyst Day, planned for July 15, 2021. Please use the following link to register for the Analyst Day (https://media.rampard.com/20210715/).
