Jixing Pharma Inks $110M Deal for LNZ100 and LNZ101 Rights in Greater China to Treat Presbyopia

April 13 News: LENZ Therapeutics (hereinafter referred to as LENZ) and CORXEL announced that they have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for the development and commercialization of LENZ’s presbyopia treatment drugs, LNZ100 and LNZ101, in Greater China. Under the agreement, LENZ will receive up to $110 million in upfront and milestone payments, as well as royalties based on future net sales.

Presbyopia (also known as farsightedness) is the gradual decline in the eye's ability to focus on nearby objects due to the hardening of the eye's lens with age, and it cannot be prevented. LENZ Therapeutics is a company in the late clinical stage, aiming to develop innovative ophthalmic drug products that can improve vision. The two candidate drugs involved in this licensing collaboration, NZ100 (Aceclidine) and LNZ101 (Aceclidine + Brimonidine), are the company’s leading projects aimed at restoring near vision loss associated with presbyopia.

Acetylclidine is a small molecule acetylcholinesterase receptor agonist that can cause pupil constriction, thereby producing a pinhole effect that improves near vision. Studies have shown that acetylclidine not only produces a miosis effect but also avoids myopic drift. Minimizing myopic drift is crucial because it can significantly impair the distance vision of most presbyopic patients.

Clinical trials completed by LENZ Therapeutics show that acetylclidine can maintain an optimal pinhole pupil size ranging from 1.5 mm to 2 mm for at least 7 hours, which is closely related to its ability to improve near vision. Moreover, not only is there no loss in best-corrected distance vision, but there is also a slight trend of net gain. Additionally, acetylclidine is well-tolerated with no serious adverse events, and the most common side effect is mild discomfort during instillation. Based on confirmatory studies conducted earlier, such as the INSIGHT clinical trial, LENZ Therapeutics plans to initiate Phase 3 clinical trials in the second half of 2022.

Note: The original text has been abridged.

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