Inspire, Wisconsin unite for glaucoma research

Durham, NC-Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. will exclusively license several patents from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation to develop and commercialize new therapeutics for treating glaucoma.

Under the agreement, Inspire will fund all further research, development, testing, regulatory filings, and potential marketing activities related to the license. It also has agreed to pay the foundation potential milestone payments during the development process, including a one-time, upfront payment.

The deal covers research conducted by Paul L. Kaufman, MD, professor and chairman of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Wisconsin; and Dr. Benjamin Geiger, professor of molecular cell and tumor biology and dean of biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Inspire expects to move the research into clinical development and apply for investigational new drug status with the FDA in 2006. The company said it would be the first pharmacologic treatment of its kind to treat primary open-angle glaucoma.