Visara Licenses Next-Gen NGF Therapy for Neurotrophic Keratitis, Expanding Ophthalmology Pipeline
NBP is trading near its 52-week low of $1.31 (3.1% above the low).
Summary
Visara, NovaBridge's majority-owned ophthalmology subsidiary, licensed VIS-102 (HT006.2.2), an investigational modified rhNGF therapy for neurotrophic keratitis, from Wuhan Hiteck. The deal grants exclusive worldwide rights excluding Greater China, with a $7.0 million upfront and near-term milestone payment and up to $104.0 million in additional milestone payments, plus tiered single-digit royalties on net sales. Phase 1b data showed 50% complete corneal healing in the highest dose cohort versus 14% for vehicle control, with mild adverse events. The therapy is designed as ready-to-use, single-dose units with refrigerated stability, potentially simplifying treatment. This expands Visara's pipeline beyond retinal disease into ocular surface disease, a second clinical-stage program. The announcement follows the 6-K filed today disclosing the $7 million upfront license fee.
Updated with an SEC 6-K filing · What changed
Updates
· SEC 6-K — The license agreement includes a $7.0 million upfront and near-term milestone payment and up to $104.0 million in additional milestone payments, plus tiered single-digit royalties on net sales.
At the time of this announcement, NBP was trading at $1.35 on NASDAQ in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $153.1M. The 52-week trading range was $1.31 to $6.79. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: GlobeNewswire.