BRIEF—NicOx opens new US development office

French ophthalmic company NicOx (Euronext Paris: COX) has announced the opening of its US development office in Research Triangle Park (RTP) in North Carolina.

The decision to relocate from its prior development office in Fort Worth, Texas, and to expand the company's presence at RTP, is driven by the anticipated progress of NCX 470 for patients with glaucoma and NCX 4251 for patients with blepharitis towards Phase II clinical testing.

Along with the existing senior R&D management, the team based in RTP currently includes clinical operations, project management, and pharmaceutical and technical operations.

"This is an exciting time for NicOx as we expand our US development capabilities and build upon the strong research and development teams located in France and in Italy," said Tomas Navratilova, vice president, head of development at NicOx.

"Together, our teams will continue to drive forward the development programs for our pipeline assets, first of all our two main projects, NCX 470 for patients with glaucoma and NCX 4251 for patients with blepharitis, and hopefully in the near future to transition into development new lead compounds of our NO-donating therapeutics under research.  The opening of our office in the RTP area is an investment in the future of the company and we believe it will be an asset as we progress our entire pipeline," Dr Navratil added.