OcuMedic, Gelest ink drug-delivering contact lens deal

OcuMedic said today that it entered into an exclusive supply agreement and picked up a strategic investment from Gelest for its proprietary drug-eluting soft contact lens of an undisclosed amount.

Under the terms of the agreement, Morrisville, Pa.-based Gelest is set to manufacture and supply OcuMedic’s key chemistry components used in the controlled release of drugs in the latter’s corrective extended-wear contacts/corneal bandages.

OcuMedic said initial indications are for the treatment of inflammation and pain for post-cataract and LASIK surgery, along with corneal abrasions and conditions like glaucoma and dry eye.

Mullica Hill, N.J.-based OcuMedic’s contact lenses/corneal bandages are a platform technology designed to eliminate the need for patients to treat themselves by delivering comfort agents that extend the wear time of a daily-use lens. The lens is developed to precisely control the release of a “first line” anti-inflammatory drug targeting post-operative eye care to reduce healing time and complications.

“Working together with Gelest we will be better able to leverage the OcuMedic intellectual property into a wide variety of applications using OcuMedic’s proprietary platform technology,” OcuMedic president & CEO Keith Ignotz said in prepared remarks. “This strategic investment and exclusive supply agreement is a further validation of the OcuMedic technology and its potential to revolutionize the eye care market. … An additional novelty of the OcuMedic technology is that eye care providers are already trained to deliver the technology and a wear time of seven days coincides with the recall standards of care whereby the provider places and replaces the device on a patient during a recall visit. The sustained drug release puts compliance into the hands of the providers and the patient is relieved of the burden of having to treat themselves.”

“The exclusive supply agreement with OcuMedic represents a unique opportunity for our specialty acrylic monomers and reactive siloxane materials business to partner with a cutting-edge innovator in ocular drug delivery and further establishes Gelest as a leader in the development and manufacture of innovative materials for contact and intraocular lenses,” added Gelest CEO Ken Gayer. “Our strategic investment in OcuMedic together with the exclusive supply agreement positions the companies to develop new-to-world technologies which match customized lens materials with selected medications.”