Under the terms of the option agreement, Celtic Therapeutics has an exclusive option to acquire and license rights to Resolvyx’s RX-10045, in all eye indications.
RX-10045 is scheduled to enter a Phase III randomized, placebo-controlled, multi-center study in 2011.
As part of the agreement, Celtic Therapeutics may also license rights to and develop another Resolvyx compound in a topical formulation for ophthalmic indications.
Resolvyx chief operating officer Jamie Nichols said that Celtic Therapeutics brings both the capital and the world class development expertise to advance RX-10045 through Phase III development in dry eye and to maximise the potential of Resolvins to treat eye disease more broadly. This will allow Resolvyx to dedicate our resources to pursue the exceptional therapeutic potential of resolvins for non-ophthalmic diseases.
Celtic Therapeutics co-founder and managing general partner Stephen Evans-Freke said that this is the fourth such transaction they have announced to date, after announcing investment in Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, which is developing second-generation monoclonal antibody drugs targeting tyrosine kinase receptors for the treatment of many cancer types, and alliances with Spirogen for the development of small molecule cytotoxic anti-cancer drugs designed to circumvent drug-resistance mechanisms, and with Bellus Health for the final Phase III development of Kiacta for the treatment of AA Amyloidosis.