Fovea Pharmaceuticals, Merrimack, sanofi-aventis deal
sanofi-aventis will acquire Fovea for €90 million ($131.5 million) up front and up to € 280 million ($409 million) in milestones related to ophthalmic compounds FOV1101, FOV2302 and FOV2304. The most advanced compound is FOV1101, a topical formulation of prednisolone and cyclosporine A in Phase II testing for allergic conjunctivitis. FOV2302 is an intravitreal formulation of ecallantide ( DX-88) from Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ:DYAX, Cambridge, Mass.) in Phase I testing for macular edema following retinal vein occlusion; and FOV2304 is a bradykinin B1 receptor ( BDKRB1; B1R) antagonist, which is expected to begin Phase I testing for diabetic macular edema next month. Fovea has rights to FOV1101 from CombinatoRx Inc. (NASDAQ:CRXX, Cambridge, Mass.). The deal is expected to close this quarter. ...