Bayer AG is gearing up for a full acquisition of Perfuse Therapeutics Inc—and with it, the biotech company’s investigational pipeline of ophthalmic candidates.
First, a look at Bayer.
Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, the global enterprise specializes in the life science fields—including therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular diseases, oncology, women’s health, and rare conditions.
Its late-stage research and development pipeline features small molecules, biologics, and advanced therapies (cell and gene therapies). See here for a snapshot.
And in regards to ophthalmology?
Bayer’s pharmaceutical division is heavily focused on retinal diseases, eye drug development, and emerging therapies targeting vision-threatening conditions.
In retinal disease: You may be familiar with:
Bayer co-developed the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drug with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals—although Regeneron maintains the drugs’ exclusive U.S. rights while Bayer owns the exclusive marketing rights outside of the U.S.
Doesn’t Bayer already own an ophthalmic subsidiary?
Indeed it does: BlueRock Therapeutics LP, a clinical-stage cell therapy company.
Its focus: Developing an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell therapy designed to restore vision loss in patients diagnosed with primary photoreceptor diseases.
- Read up on OpCT-001, which was granted Orphan Drug designation by the FDA earlier this year.
So Bayer is no stranger to the ophthalmic space. Next: Talk about this deal.
The company’s plan to fully acquire Perfuse also extends to the full rights pertaining to the biotech’s lead asset PER-001.
Bayer referred to PER-001 as representing “one of the first potential treatments for glaucoma and DR” currently in development for its ability to:
- Improve the visual field for glaucoma patients
- Improve contrast sensitivity and reduce ischemia in DR patients
Was a price tag mentioned?
Yes .. the deal has the potential to value up to $2.45 billion.
- This comprises a $300 million upfront payment and additional development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments (based on success criteria [such as financial metrics]).
And when might this take effect?
Good question … the companies didn’t specify an exact timeframe, instead noting that the deal will be completed once regulators give their stamp of approval and Perfuse shareholders also vote in its favor.
Gotcha. In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at Perfuse.
The San Francisco, California-headquartered biopharma company is developing treatments for ischemia-induced ocular diseases via its research & development (R&D) facilities in Durham, North Carolina.
Its primary focus is on endothelin signaling—which essentially helps regulate blood vessel tightness and blood flow as well as plays a critical role in regulating inflammation and cell death.
Explain this in relation to ocular disease.
In this context: Upregulation of the endothelin signaling pathway occurs, in which the body produces too much endothelin and reduces blood flow in the eye.
- Perfusion believes this reduction is thought to be a major driver of systemic and ocular disease progression, including in glaucoma, DR, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and retinal vein occlusion (RVO).
Specifically: The company is trying to block the harmful endothelin signal itself to prevent such progression in ocular diseases driven by ischemia. See here for a deeper dive into its approach.
And that’s where PER-001 comes into play?
Yup. PER-001 is a small-molecule endothelin antagonist designed to block this endothelin signal.
How: Via an intravitreal (IVT) sustained-release implant that releases drugs over a 6-month period.
- The thought: Is for PER-001 to improve retinal blood flow and prevent retinal cell death caused by upregulated endothelin.
And its current disease focus?
While PER-001 is under development for all four of those aforementioned ischemic-induced ocular disease, the company has advanced to phase 2 development for two:
- Open-angle glaucoma (OAG)
- DR
Any clinical data to report so far?
Yes, indeed .. Perfuse shared positive phase 2 results in June 2025 from two randomized controlled clinical trials evaluating both glaucoma and DR.
Based on 6-month data:
- PER-001 demonstrated a favorable safety and tolerability profile for both indications
- Glaucoma patients saw their progressive vision loss reversed as optic nerve blood flow and structure improved
- DR patients experience improvements in vision as well as retinal ischemia and structure
See here and click here for specific glaucoma and DR findings, respectively.