Omeros Corporation, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has recently submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) seeking approval to market OMS302 for use in patients undergoing intraocular lens replacement (ILR) surgery in the European Union (EU). Added to standard irrigation solution used during ILR, OMS302 is Omeros' proprietary PharmacoSurgery product that, across multiple human trials, demonstrated clinically meaningful and statistically significant maintenance of intraoperative mydriasis (pupil dilation), prevention of intraoperative miosis (pupil constriction), and reduction of postoperative ocular pain.

With the submission by Omeros of a New Drug Application (NDA) for OMS302 to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July 2013, the MAA represents Omeros' second major submission seeking regulatory authorization to market OMS302. The EMA previously granted OMS302 eligibility for centralized review, determining that the product represents a significant therapeutic innovation. The MAA for OMS302, therefore, was submitted through EMA's Centralized Procedure, which allows submission of a single application that, when approved, authorizes the drug to be marketed in all EU member states and European Free Trade Association countries rather than requiring separate national approvals. The NDA and MAA are each subject to an initial evaluation prior to commencement of the formal review process. Assuming successful completion of the review process and approval of the NDA and MAA, OMS302 is expected to be available to ophthalmic surgeons and their patients in the US and Europe in the second half of 2014.

"Having submitted two major marketing applications just weeks apart for our lead product is an outstanding achievement," said Gregory A Demopulos, chairman and chief executive officer of Omeros. "Omeros' commercialization activities in anticipation of 2014 launches in both the US and Europe are well underway, and we look forward to making OMS302 available to surgeons and their patients."

OMS302 is Omeros' product being developed for use during intraocular lens replacement, including cataract surgery and refractive lens exchange. OMS302 is a proprietary combination of the mydriatic (pupil dilating) agent phenylephrine and the anti-inflammatory agent ketorolac. Omeros submitted an NDA to the FDA in July 2013 and recently submitted an MAA to the EMA.

ILR involves replacement of the original lens of the eye with an artificial intraocular lens. These procedures are typically performed to replace a lens opacified by a cataract or to correct a refractive error of the lens (i.e., refractive lens exchange). OMS302 is added to standard irrigation solution used in ILR and delivered within the eye to maintain intraoperative mydriasis (pupil dilation), to reduce surgically induced miosis (pupil constriction), and to reduce postoperative pain and irritation. Maintenance of mydriasis is critical to the safety and surgical ease of the procedure. Intraoperative pupil constriction increases the risk of injury to intraocular structures and can substantially prolong surgical time.

Omeros is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing products targeting inflammation, coagulopathies and disorders of the central nervous system.