Biotech Values

[isolution]

Allergan,

Dew, you wrote:
Clearly, AGN has a pretty full development program in the area of retinal diseases.

I quite agree with you, but it is only since last october, Allergan have been focused so far on the anterior segment of the eye, I mean drops.
They've been collaborating with Oculex since may 2001 for the use of their biodegradable implant technology, eventhough Oculex have been testing only one drug so far, a steroid.
This implant, Surodex is marketed in Asia and Mexico since few years and is implanted in anterior chamber, on post surgery indication (a small market, easily solved by drops).
The major drawback of this implant technology (even if it is better than the non-biodegradable implant from CDS/Baush&Lomb) is that you don't control the dissolution rate as you should for steroids, it delivers continuously at the same rate, and for steroid it is preferable to have high dose at the beginning and a tapered treatment later.
The same implant placed in the posterior chamber, Posurdex has the same problem. They've focused the indication on persistent Macular edema. As a consequence, you develop intraocular pressure (risk of glaucoma) and cataract (induced by steroids).
Concerning AMD, Allergan seems to work on 2 fronts: they collaborating with Entremed to use Panzem with Oculex'technology and they screen protein kinase inhibitor since their agreement (retinal disease project) with Bardeen Sciences Company. So far, I haven't seen anything coming out of this research. Also, they are not the only company to check te use of PK inhibitors in AMD indication.

Collaboration with Genaera? not sure since they are tight with Entremed on that subject.

Implant the future of drug delivery in the eye? Not convinced if you consider the side-effects. On the uveitis front, implant will be indicated, I think on very few diseases, since you cannot control the pattern of delivery. I rather see a combination product as one molecule delivered locally at high dose for a short time and an implant with a very small dose for a long time. Confirmation to this is the Arvo abstracts where they show preclinical data on microdose implants...

I quite agree with you when you suggest that Allergan is a company to follow in retinal diseases, but, like B&L, I am not convinced with their strategy and that they will be the big players in the arena of AMD.

Anyway Dew, One again it is local drug delivery story (Alcon, Genentech, Novartis, Eyetech, B&L, Allergan, Genvec, Neurotech, Oxford Biomedica, Oxigene)
Strange, I don't see Genaera in the list?

Regards