Acucela Inc. and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. have entered into a
definitive agreement to co-develop and co-promote OPA-6566, an adenosine A2a
receptor agonist discovered and currently
under development by Otsuka for the treatment of glaucoma, in the United States.
Under the agreement, Otsuka will contract Acucela to perform
early clinical development of OPA-6566
in the United States
and grant Acucela an opt-in right to
co-develop and co-promote the compound. In
the event and after Acucela exercises the opt-in right, Otsuka and Acucela will co-develop the compound sharing
the cost incurred and co-promote the
resulted product in the United
States after regulatory approval. Upon Acucela exercising its opt-in
right, Otsuka will receive a certain
amount of pre-determined opt-in fee and milestone payments.
The compound OPA-6566 is currently under preclinical study,
with clinical development scheduled to
begin next year.
Acucela’s chairman, president and chief executive officer,
Ryo Kubota, M.D., Ph.D., commented,
“We are pleased to further strengthen our
partnership with Otsuka with this new agreement, which further broadens Acucela’s portfolio of potential eye
treatments for patients with blinding
eye diseases and represents an important step forward in our growth strategy. The number of patients
with glaucoma is expected to increase
throughout the world and, with its novel mechanism of action, OPA-6566 has the potential to provide
a new value not found in conventional
glaucoma medications. We look forward to leveraging our deep understanding of glaucoma and clinical
development expertise to advance
OPA-6566 into human clinical trials.”
“Over the last few years, Acucela and Otsuka have built a strong strategic partnership to jointly pursue
development efforts to deliver two
innovative ophthalmologic drugs to patients – Acucela-discovered ACU-4429, being developed for dry age-related
macular degeneration, and
Otsuka-discovered Rebamipide ophthalmic suspension, being developed for dry eye,” stated, Taro
Iwamoto, Ph.D., president of Otsuka Pharmaceutical.
“We are delighted to expand our working
relationship with Acucela, and underline our new found resolve to develop OPA-6566 as a novel treatment for
patients with glaucoma.”
