InflammX Therapeutics, Inc. announced earlier this month that it has entered into an option agreement with Bausch + Lomb for the global eyecare giant to purchase the biotech company.
First things first: What’s an option agreement?
This is a type of legal contract in which one party (the buyer) is given the exclusive right to purchase an asset or property from another party (such as a company) at a predetermined price and within a specific timeframe—all without any actual obligation to buy it.
- In other words: This agreement gives a buyer the choice (“option”) to buy an asset.
The purpose of this: Essentially, to prevent the owner of an asset or property from selling it to another buyer during the option agreement’s term (and to lock in the purchase price).
- And in this scenario: B+L (the buyer) has received the “option” to purchase InflammX (the asset).
Interesting … now refresh me on InflammX.
Founded in 2020 and based in Tampa, Florida, InflammX is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing an orally-administered compound to prevent the dysregulated NLRP3 inflammasome pathway of autoinflammation (more on that later).
Its pipeline: Consists of two investigational candidates targeting retinal-based disease with significant unmet needs:
- Xiflam (oral administration)
- Proposed indications:
- Dry / wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
- Diabetic macular edema (DME)
- Diabetic retinopathy (DR)
- Diabetic nephropathy
- Proposed indications:
- XentryGap-19 (intravitreal administration)
- Proposed indications:
- Dry / wet AMD
- DME
- DR
- Proposed indications:
Before we get into the details of this, let’s talk about this potential purchase.
According to the companies, B+L secured the exclusive option to acquire InflammX during an agreed-upon option period that was based on the company (InflammX) achieving “specified development milestones.”
- Notably: This agreement was signed in December 2024.
InflammX’s CEO Brain Levy stated: “Partnering with Bausch + Lomb offers a unique opportunity to accelerate the development of our pipeline and bring our therapies to patients worldwide.”
Similarly, B+L’s Yehia Hashad, chief medical officer and executive vice president of Research & Development, noted the “tremendous potential” that could come from combining the company’s resources and expertise with InflammX’s retinal disease treatment approach.
Were any financial details released?
Nope, none were disclosed.
And before you ask: No timeframe was given as to when this acquisition might occur either.
Now give me the rundown on InflammX’s therapeutic focus.
The NLRP3 inflammasome pathway is a key part of the innate immune system and inflammatory signaling, in which a multiprotein complex (NLRP3 inflammasome) assembles in response to danger signals such as pathogens or cellular damage.
- Notably: This has also been found to be a common pathway of pathology in multiple autoinflammatory disease states
InflammX’s focus: Its investigational drugs are designed to “regulate upstream activation signaling,” resulting in a break up of "persistent autoinflammation” noted in these diseases.
Go on …
The company has identified the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) compound (an energy provider) as a key inflammasome signal activator released through open Connexin 43 (Cx43) hemichannels—protein channels that enable small molecules to pass between cells.
Why this is important: When the Cx43 hemichannels are prematurely opened and overexpressed, ATP is released and activates an inflammatory response that aggravates the NLRP3 innate inflammasome pathway of inflammation.
- Which leads to: Eventually, the domino effect of these responses can result in significant tissue damage such as microvascular leak or dropout, edema, and ischemia.
Thus: The goal is to shut down this inflammatory process to enable damaged tissues to repair and regenerate in an environment of physiological homeostasis.
Which brings us to InflammX’s pipeline?
Indeed. As the company’s lead asset, Xiflam is a once-daily, orally-administered small molecule designed to break this cycle of “activated inflammasome mediated autoinflammation by closing prematurely open Cx43 hemichannels.”
The intended result: Reducing and preventing extracellular ATP release, enabling cells to return to a non-inflammatory environment and for homeostasis to be returned.
- See a visual of this process.
And in terms of treating these retinal diseases?
Unlike intravitreal injections—which can only be administered to one eye at a time—Xiflam has the potential to provide a therapeutic effect to both eyes simultaneously and significantly improve disease treatment.
Its unique mechanism of action (MOA): This was previously noted as involving its ability to cross the blood-brain and blood-retinal barriers to provide a novel approach for treating retinal diseases—plus “provide a much needed clinical alternative for treating [patients with DR and AMD,”
Has this undergone clinical testing yet?
Yes … to start: preclinical in vitro and ex-vivo studies. The company also reported clinical safety data from multiple phase 1/2 trials in which +1,000 participants were dosed for up to three months (from 25 mg to 80 mg).
- The results: Xiflam was found to be “well tolerated with no safety concerns.”
And more recently?
The company submitted an investigational new drug (IND) amendment for Xiflam in September 2022 to enable the initiation of a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, phase 2b trial.
Planned by InflammX and the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research (DRCR) Network to investigate Xiflam’s effect on DME, the trial is currently ongoing …
- Additionally: When announcing that IND submission, the company also reported plans for two other phase 2b studies on the therapy—this time to evaluate its efficacy in treating dry AMD and geographic atrophy (GA).