Regeneron has scooped up Oxular, a retinal-disease-focused company based in the U.K., closing the deal at the very end of 2024.
Word of the acquisition was first shared by Oxular’s former CEO and board member Mark Gaffney, who now helms Calluna Pharma.
“The ophthalmology team at Regeneron is uniquely positioned to maximize the use of Oxular’s proprietary technologies,” Gaffney wrote in a Jan. 2 LinkedIn post. A special thank you to all of the employees, advisors, board members and shareholders who made this transaction possible. I wish each of you all the best in your next ventures. Upward and onward!”
No Oxular employees are joining Regeneron, though several will be “helping short-term with tech transfer and transition work in consulting roles,” a Regeneron spokesperson told Fierce Biotech over email. The company had about 20 employees at the time of acquisition, according to LinkedIn.
No formal announcement was made regarding the buy, and financial terms haven’t been disclosed, because the deal was “non-material” for Regeneron, according to the spokesperson, who said more information would be shared in the company’s next quarterly filing.
Back in 2021, Oxcular raised a $37 million financing round led by VC Forbion, money that was used to advance an asset for diabetic macular edema, a retinal disease that can cause blindness.
The candidate, dubbed OXU-001, is designed to deliver a sustained release formulation of inflammation drug dexamethasone via Oxcular’s posterior suprachoroidal microcatheter delivery device dubbed Oxulumis. The once-yearly treatment is currently being studied in a phase 2 trial.
Oxcular also believes OXU-001 holds potential in radiation-induced macular edema, according to the company’s website.
“This was a targeted acquisition that provides us with a potential best-in-class delivery device for our future potential ocular gene therapies, with the goal of accelerating the time it will take to reach clinical readiness,” the Regeneron spokesperson said.
Regeneron, developer of Eylea injections for retinal diseases, has been slowly building out its cell and gene therapy pipeline, snapping up 2seventy bio’s R&D unit at the beginning of 2024 and buying Decibel Therapeutics, a biotech developing gene therapies for hearing loss, the year before that.