Friday, December 12, 2008

PSivida's eye treatment in trials for macular degeneration

By Mass High Tech staff

PSivida Ltd., an Australian drug company with U.S. headquarters in Watertown, has announced that its Medidur technology, licensed to Alimera Sciences Inc., has begun an early-stage clinical trial for treating macular degeneration. The technology is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials for treating a different disease associated with blindness, diabetic macular edema.

Medidur is a tiny insert, injected during an in-office procedure, which is being studied as a way to deliver a low dose of fluocinolone acetonide, a corticosteroid, to the retina for up to three years as a treatment for DME. To be marketed by Alimera, a privately held ophthalmic pharmaceutical company, the product will go by the name Iluvien if it is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pSivida (Nasdaq: PSDV) (ASX: PSD) (FSE: PSI) officials said.

The study is expected to evaluate the effectiveness of Illuvien in treating dry-age related macular degeneration in patients with bilateral geographic atrophy.

In a previous study conducted on animals, Iluvien showed signs of preventing macular degeneration.

Alimera Sciences and pSivida have a worldwide agreement to co-develop and market the Medidur insert for the use of fluocinolone acetonide to treat DME. The agreement also includes the option to identify other compounds for ophthalmic diseases, potentially resulting in three additional products with the Medidur insert.