Just before Christmas, J&J’s pharmaceuticals arm Janssen bought the rights to Botaretigene Sparoparvovec (Bota-Vec), a genetic eye condition treatment developed at UCL, from biotech firm MeiraGTx for $415million (£326.2million).
As part of the deal, J&J will be responsible for any royalties due to UCL on commercial sales of the eye treatment. Bota-Vec was developed to treat X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic condition that causes serious vision impairment and blindness. It mainly affects men and initially manifests itself with the loss of night vision during adolescence. It leads to impaired vision during early adulthood and legal blindness by 40.
Having sold the rights to Bota-Vec, MeiraGTx still has the rights to treatments developed at UCL and London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital for three different genetic conditions that can cause blindness.
MeiraGTx began life in 2015 with the acquisition of the rights to the treatments UCL was developing, with the hope in commercialising them.
