EyeGate Pharma, which is involved in a Phase III study of its lead product, EGP-437, for the treatment of dry eye syndrome, has announced that it will collaborate with RXi Pharmaceuticals for ocular delivery of RNAi therapeutics.
The partnership will explore EyeGate's iontophoresis technology, which uses a low-level electrical current to delivery drugs across the ocular surface into the eye. Once inside the eye, the company believes, RXi's sd-rxRNA compounds will have access to retinal cells and then do what RNAi does--"silence" disease-causing genes.
"The development of RNAi therapeutics to treat retinal disorders is a key focus for our company, and we are excited to be collaborating with EyeGate to explore new, patient friendly approaches for delivering RNAi therapeutics to the eye," RXi President and CEO Noah Beerman says in a statement.
- read the RXi release
- check out EyeGate's iontophoresis technology