Iacta Pharmaceuticals’ hunt for technologies that improve the delivery of drugs to the eye has led it to Tallc, developer of a micellar technology for pan-ocular drug delivery.
The agreement has two parts. First, Iacta has secured the right to use Tallc’s SmartCelle pan-ocular drug delivery technology for future clinical development. Iacta plans to use the technology to deliver one or more of its novel ophthalmic therapeutics as well as in new, co-developed candidates. Second, Iacta has picked up exclusive rights to negotiate a separate license agreement for the right to co-develop TA-A001.
TA-A001, Tallc’s lead candidate, is an activator of the human CB2 receptors found throughout the eye. Depending on where in the eye TA-A001 acts, Tallc thinks it can induce effects including the reduction of intraocular pressure, the management of surgical pain and the control of inflammatory uveitis.
The breadth of effects reflects the expectation that SmartCelle will enable the delivery of the molecule to multiple parts of the eye. The SmartCelle delivery technology consists of small, neutrally charged micelles that Tallc loads with drug molecules. If Tallc is right, the micelles will get drugs to the cornea, the trabecular network, the anterior chamber, the posterior chamber and the retinal pigment epithelium.
RELATED: Novartis bags option to buy developer of eye drug delivery tech
The potential benefits of SmartCelle put the technology squarely in the wheelhouse of Iacta, a company that exists to leverage advances in ocular drug delivery to get effective doses of molecules to sites in the eye.
“We view this collaboration as the perfect synergy to realize the full potential of our ophthalmology pipeline. We are excited to explore how best to deploy the SmartCelle technology within our current pipeline, as well as the future co-development opportunities this partnership provides,” Iacta CEO Damon Burrows said in a statement.