Closely-held Ripple Therapeutics has announced evaluation and licensing agreements with Glaukos Corporation (NYSE:GKOS), enabling Glaukos to leverage Ripple’s proprietary technology platform to create sustained release implants of targeted APIs for glaucoma and retinal diseases.
According to Ripple, if the program is successful, the evaluation agreement will automatically convert into a licensing agreement with future milestone payments and royalties.
In a statement, Tomas Navratil, Ph.D., chief development officer of Glaukos, said, “We believe Ripple has one of the most promising drug delivery technologies currently under development. We are pleased with the progress of our collaboration and have enjoyed working with the Ripple team as we work together to bring these much-needed sustained release products to patients with critical unmet needs.”
Tom Reeves, president and CEO of Ripple, commented, “This is the first of what we believe will be a number of transactions using our technology platform in concert with partners’ APIs to create sustained release implants which will benefit patients with extended duration and improved safety. We look forward to continued collaboration with the entire Glaukos team.”
Ripple’s patented technology platform is founded on the discovery that drugs can be chemically engineered into controlled-release pharmaceuticals without the need for polymers or excipients. These proprietary prodrugs undergo surface erosion to give zero-order release kinetics, and are highly customizable to modulate both drug dose and duration. This technology offers key benefits, including lower molecular weight, higher drug loading, smaller implants, and no degradation by-products—facilitating a clearer regulatory path and enhanced safety profile. With extended therapeutic effects, it also reduces the treatment burden for patients.
