Under the license agreement, the technology, which will be part of BioLight’s ophthalmic cluster, will be used by ViSc to further develop a sub-conjunctival drug implant for the controlled release of ophthalmic medications.
BioLight said its ophthalmic cluster currently comprises one other company – IOPtima, a developer, manufacturer and distributor of a minimally-invasive CO2 laser for glaucoma.
BioLight ophthalmic cluster head Keren Leshem said, "I’m excited to be able to take this promising technology further along the development path into human trials."
Aerie Pharmaceuticals president and chief executive officer Thomas van Haarlem said the company is pleased to collaborate with Biolight and ViSci through its Novaer affiliate to enable first clinical testing of its Eye-D technology in 2013.
"This controlled-release drug delivery technology was discovered by Aerie’s scientists and has achieved pre-clinical proof-of-concept for long term reduction of intraocular pressure," Haarlem added.