NovaBridge Biosciences announced that its subsidiary Visara has assigned its exclusive license agreement to Everest Medicines for the development, manufacture and commercialization of VIS-101 in Greater China, Singapore, South Korea, and certain Southeast Asian countries. The strategic partnership aims to accelerate development of the novel bifunctional biologic for ophthalmic indications.
Novel Dual-Target Approach for Eye Diseases
VIS-101 represents a second-in-class, potentially best-in-class bifunctional biologic that simultaneously targets VEGF-A and ANG-2 pathways. The drug is designed to provide more potent and durable treatment benefits for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), and retinal vein occlusion (RVO) compared to current standard of care therapies.
"With its unique potency and potential to provide more durable treatment benefits, we believe VIS-101 has a robust opportunity to be a second-in-class with best-in-class potential treatment for patients around the world with wet AMD, DME and RVO," said Emmett T. Cunningham, Jr. MD, PhD, MPH, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Visara.
Clinical Development Progress
VIS-101 has completed initial safety and dose-escalation studies in both the United States and China. The drug is currently completing a large, randomized, dose-ranging Phase 2 study in China for wet AMD. According to the companies, VIS-101 is anticipated to be Phase 3-ready in 2026.
The partnership leverages Everest Medicines' established clinical development and commercialization capabilities in Asian markets. "Everest Medicines' clinical and commercial expertise could enable us to accelerate the development and bring VIS-101 to patients across Asia sooner," Cunningham noted.
Strategic Partnership Structure
Under the assignment agreement, Everest Medicines will assume all payment obligations under the assigned license agreement and reimburse Visara for any upfront payments already made. The partnership covers Greater China, Singapore, South Korea, and certain Southeast Asian countries, while Visara retains global rights outside these territories.
"Partnering with Visara brings a highly differentiated and commercially attractive asset to Everest's late-stage pipeline and paves the way for our entry into the ophthalmology market, an area of significant unmet need," said Ian Woo, President and Chief Financial Officer of Everest Medicines.
Board Appointment Strengthens Leadership
NovaBridge has appointed Ian Woo to its Board of Directors, bringing substantial expertise in international biopharma finance, operations and management. Woo's background includes serving as a managing director in the global healthcare group of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, where he helped raise over $1 billion in equity financings and advised on merger and acquisition transactions aggregating more than $35 billion in value.
"Ian's extensive track record in strategic transactions, operations and management will be a valuable asset to NovaBridge as we work to accelerate the global development of transformative medicines and create value for patients and investors," said Sean Fu, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of NovaBridge.
Company Background
Visara is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of best-in-class ophthalmic therapeutics, led by internationally recognized specialist in infectious and inflammatory eye disease Emmett T. Cunningham, Jr. NovaBridge is the majority shareholder of Visara and maintains control of global rights to VIS-101 outside of Greater China and certain Asian countries.
The licensing agreement represents NovaBridge's strategy of collaborating with global innovators to accelerate development of novel medicines. "This Agreement with Everest Medicines is an excellent fit with NovaBridge's focus on collaborating with global innovators to accelerate the development of novel medicines such as VIS-101," Fu stated.
