Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.has entered into an agreement with the University of Miami (the “University”) for the exclusive worldwide license of the University’s intellectual property related to photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (“PDAT”) for treating bacterial, fungal, and parasitic (acanthamoeba) infections of the eye.
This agreement contemplates Provectus forming a majority-owned start-up company in which the University would be a minority equity shareholder, aimed at developing and commercializing the University’s PDAT medical device in combination with a formulation of the company’s proprietary pharmaceutical-grade rose bengal sodium (“RBS”) active pharmaceutical ingredient. Provectus would contribute the license to the new entity and have an exclusive RBS supply arrangement with it.
Rose bengal PDAT emerged under the leadership of Jean-Marie Parel, IngETS-G, Ph.D., FARVO, director of the Ophthalmic Biophysics Center (“OBC”) at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (“BPEI”) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The OBC team and Dr. Parel have spent many years advancing their PDAT technology using rose bengal against different types of treatment-naïve and -resistant keratitis. The OBC has established the merits of its innovation through extensive in vitro testing, pilot in vivo safety and clinical studies, and the scrutiny that comes with numerous peer-reviewed publications and medical conference presentations of rose bengal PDAT’s methodology, datasets, and results. BPEI’s rose bengal PDAT is also the subject of two international randomized, double masked, clinical trials for acanthamoeba and fungal (NCT05110001) and bacterial (NCT06271772) keratitis.
Dr. Parel said, “Rose bengal PDAT is the result of a lot of hard work by cross-disciplinary contributors at the University of Miami. Seeing our team address the challenges of infectious keratitis in such an innovative way is very rewarding. We look forward to working with Provectus to deliver this groundbreaking treatment to patients worldwide.”
Guillermo Amescua, MD, professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, medical director of the Ocular Microbiology Laboratory, and board-certified ophthalmologist at BPEI added, “The OBC’s innovation is sorely needed globally because infectious keratitis is the leading cause of corneal blindness in resourced and under-resourced countries. It is exciting to take something from the lab, apply it to clinical practice, and see patients getting better.”
Ed Pershing, chairman of Provectus’s Board of Directors said, “We are pleased to continue the Company’s collaboration with Dr. Parel, Dr. Amescua, and the OBC team, and to enter into this exclusive worldwide license agreement. Bascom Palmer’s more than two-decade recognition as the preeminent U.S. eye care center underscores the potential impact of this medical innovation. We look forward to working with Bascom Palmer and the OBC to reduce or eliminate the risk of blindness and impaired vision from eye infections for millions of people around the world through the promise of rose bengal sodium PDAT.”