Nacuity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Johns Hopkins Sign Exclusive License Agreement to Advance Treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa
June 13, 2018
Fort Worth, Texas - Nacuity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nacuity) announces that it has entered into an agreement with Johns Hopkins University (JHU) providing Nacuity with an exclusive worldwide license to the intellectual property (IP) underlying certain U.S. and foreign patent applications that Nacuity has filed in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute. These patents cover the treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) with N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA) and certain biomarkers that may be useful in the treatment of patients with retinal diseases.
Nacuity previously held non-exclusive rights to the IP now being licensed from JHU. This license builds on Nacuity’s strong overall IP position, which also includes a U.S. Food and Drug Administration Orphan Designation for NACA in the treatment of RP, pending patent applications for the manufacture of NACA and new compositions of NACA. Though the specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, JHU became a shareholder of Nacuity and JHU is entitled under the agreement to receive certain milestone payments in connection with the clinical development and regulatory approval of NACA and royalties based on product sales. Nacuity is focused on developing a treatment for patients with retinitis pigmentosa, guided by the groundbreaking work with NACA conducted by Dr. Peter Campochiaro, the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Professor of Ophthalmology and Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Campochiaro is a member of Nacuity’s scientific advisory board (SAB).
“We are extremely pleased to enhance our intellectual property portfolio by this exclusive arrangement with the Wilmer Eye Institute, one of the world’s leading ophthalmological research institutions,” said Halden Conner, CEO of Nacuity.
Nacuity is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing NACA, a small molecule antioxidant, for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa and potentially other retinal-based diseases. The Company has completed one early stage clinical trial and is about to begin another. The Company plans to initiate Phase II clinical testing in patients with retinitis pigmentosa in early 2019. Nacuity has been funded through H&W Partners, Maxim Merchant Capital and the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the leading non-profit foundation driving research aimed at preventing, treating and curing blindness caused by retinal degenerative diseases.
About Nacuity
Nacuity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.nacuity.com) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company based in Fort Worth, Texas, whose mission is to develop a breakthrough treatment for retinitis pigmentosa and potentially other ophthalmological indications. Nacuity has assembled an accomplished team and has received significant financial aid and technical support from the Foundation fighting Blindness.