Avedro Inc., a privately held medical device and pharmaceutical company advancing the science and technology of corneal cross-linking, has announced that the company will hold the exclusive license to EyeGate Pharma’s iontophoresis patents in the field of corneal collagen cross-linking.

When cross-linking is used to treat degenerative keratoconus or post-LASIK ectasia, the corneal epithelium is commonly removed to allow riboflavin to penetrate into the cornea. Removal of the epithelium causes patient discomfort for up to 24 hours and a transient reduction in vision as the epithelium regrows. EyeGate Pharma’s iontophoresis is one approach that has the potential to deliver riboflavin into the cornea without the need to remove the epithelium.

“Avedro is pleased to have an exclusive license to the use of EyeGate Pharma’s iontophoresis patents. This license allows Avedro the rights to pursue any use of EyeGate’s systems in the field of corneal collagen cross-linking. Iontophoresis is a delivery approach, among others, that we intend to investigate to determine if it may offer any additional benefits to the excellent clinical results we have achieved with ParaCel, our current transepithelial cross-linking formulation,” said David Muller, PhD, CEO of Avedro. He continued, “This will add to our current patent portfolio which we intend to vigorously enforce against any infringing companies around the world.”

“We recognize the importance of cross-linking in vision care,” said Stephen From of EyeGate Pharma. “This relationship paves the way to explore further process enhancements, especially riboflavin delivery. Iontophoresis of riboflavin with the Eyegate delivery system could further shorten overall treatment times. We look forward to working together with Avedro on this exciting endeavour.”

EyeGate Pharma is a privately held, specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the safety and efficacy of drug delivery to the eye for the treatment of a wide range of ophthalmic diseases.