Opportunity d’Lux

Seeing an opportunity to pick up where an older generation of calcineurin inhibitors leave off, Lux Biosciences Inc. recently licensed ophthalmic rights to Isotechnika Inc.’s optimized cyclosporine candidate. Based on the strength of the idea, the company raised $36 million in venture money that it will use to conduct a pivotal Phase II/III trial of ISA247 to treat uveitis starting early next year.

The autoimmune disease is characterized by inflammation of the uveal tract, which lines the inside of the eye behind the cornea. According to Ulrich Grau, president and CEO of Lux (Jersey City, N.J.), the only drugs approved for uveitis are steroids, which bring a risk of cataracts and glaucoma...