Santen, Clearside team up on posterior ocular disease

Emeryville, CA and Alpharetta, GA-Santen Ltd., the parent company of Santen Inc., has made an investment in Clearside Biomedical Inc. and has entered into a research collaboration agreement for posterior ocular diseases.

Clearside Biomedical is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes products to treat retinal blindness by delivering therapeutics through the suprachoroidal space to access the retina and choroid using a proprietary microinjection dosage form. Santen will join with other investors to fund an additional $7.9 million for continued development of CLS1001 into pivotal testing and to further Clearside Biomedical’s pipeline in ocular choroidal neovascularization and inflammatory diseases of the posterior segment.

“Clearside Biomedical’s proprietary microinjection platform provides a novel access to the retina and choroid and may provide improvements in delivering drugs to the site of retinal diseases via the suprachoroidal space through an in-office injection procedure,” said Quan Dong Nguyen, MD, MSc, incoming McGaw Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Director of the Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The FDA has granted Clearside an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application for CLS1001 (triamcinolone acetonide) Suprachoroidal Injectable Suspension, which would treat sympathetic ophthalmia, temporal arteritis, uveitis, and ocular inflammatory conditions unresponsive to topical corticosteroids.

“I cannot imagine a better alliance as we continue to understand the role the suprachoroidal space will play in dosing medicine directly to the site of retinal disease in patients experiencing retinal blindness,” said Daniel White, president and chief executive officer of Clearside Biomedical. “The collaboration with Santen prepares an avenue to develop state-of-the art medications for the critical treatment of sight-threatening disease.”

”Santen is committed to discovering and developing innovative therapies for the treatment of retinal disease.  Our partnership with Clearside Biomedical provides a unique option in medical treatment for the difficult to treat posterior ocular diseases,” said Schalon Newton, DM, vice president of strategic marketing and business development at Santen.

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