NicOx inks deal on novel ophthalmic therapeutics with Ironwood

French ophthalmic company NicOx (Euronext: COX) has entered into a research collaboration with US biotech firm Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IRWD), focused on combining Ironwood's expertise in soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) and NicOx's proprietary nitric oxide (NO)-donating research platform to generate novel compounds in order to identify potential new therapeutics for the treatment of certain ophthalmic conditions.

Under the terms of the research collaboration agreement, each company will be responsible for their own costs associated with activities carried out as part of the collaboration. Depending on the outcome of the research collaboration, NicOx and Ironwood may then enter into discussions regarding NicOx's further development of any identified product candidate.

"There is evidence to suggest that bringing together Ironwood and NicOx's respective expertise in sGC and NO-donating compounds can create new treatment options for ophthalmic conditions. We look forward to working with Ironwood on this exciting collaboration, with the goal of identifying potential new NicOx development pipeline candidates," commented NicOx executive vice president and chief scientific officer Michael Bergamini.