Visus Therapeutics and Zhaoke Announce Exclusive Licensing Agreement to Commercialize Brimochol PF and Carbachol PF in Select Asian Markets

Visus Therapeutics and Zhaoke Ophthalmology (ZKO) announced an exclusive licensing agreement for the development and commercialization of Brimochol PF and Carbachol PF in Greater China, South Korea, and select Southeast Asian territories. Brimochol PF and Carbachol PF are investigational, preservative-free therapeutics designed to be long-acting, once-daily eye drops to correct for the loss of near vision associated with presbyopia.

Under the terms of the agreement, ZKO will be responsible for clinical development and regulatory approval for Brimochol PF and Carbachol PF in the specified territories, and subsequently the commercialization activities for the products. Visus will receive an upfront payment of $15 million and will potentially receive up to $115 million in regulatory, commercialization, and sales-driven milestones. Additionally, Visus will earn tiered royalties on future sales of these products in the contracted territories. ZKO will leverage the considerable clinical development experience and plans that Visus has implemented for its currently enrolling Phase 3 studies to fulfill the requisite clinical requirements and bring the products to market quickly.

“We are pleased to partner with Zhaoke Ophthalmology, an innovation-focused company with a highly experienced commercial team and a robust research, clinical, and manufacturing infrastructure,” said Ben Bergo, cofounder and chief executive officer at Visus Therapeutics. “Our market research indicates there is high demand for a long-acting, presbyopia-correcting eye drop in China, and we are excited to collaborate with Zhaoke Ophthalmology to accelerate the clinical development and launch our lead candidates in Greater China, South Korea, and select Southeast Asian markets.”

“Zhaoke Ophthalmology is excited to join Visus in potentially launching the first once-daily presbyopia-correcting eye drop in Greater China, South Korea, and select Southeast Asian markets. After extensive analysis of other presbyopia-correcting eye drops in development, Zhaoke Ophthalmology is confident that Brimochol PF and Carbachol PF have the potential to become the best-in-class drugs for the treatment of presbyopia, which is backed by the Visus leadership team’s unparalleled experience in the ophthalmology category,” said Dr. Li Xiaoyi (Benjamin), chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer at Zhaoke Ophthalmology Limited.