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| IRIS Pharma and OPIA Technologies announce Licence Agreement
NICE, FRANCE - April 21, 2011 - Iris Pharma, a world leader CRO specialized in ophthalmology, and OPIA Technologies, a company developping innovative medical devices for ophthalmology, announced today they have entered into a long-term licence agreement for the development of EYEPRIM®, OPIA's main device platform, in animal studies. As part of the agreement, Iris Pharma will obtain the exclusive licence for the use of EYEPRIM® device to perform ocular surface biopsies of the living eye in its preclinical research activities. "Gaining access to intellectual property and innovative medical device benefit our customers, and Iris Pharma sees significant value from this license agreement," said Dr. Pierre-Paul Elena, Founder and CEO, Iris Pharma. "Using this new device into our preclinical models will improve them greatly. We will be able for example to assess many other endpoints and will obtain for sure outstanding results. Furthermore, by setting up such a device in animal we will give the veterinarians access to a very helpful tool for better diagnosis." OPIA's patented sampling device is a reliable and efficient tool to perform conjunctival impressions. The conjunctival impression technique allows the most superficial layer of the conjunctival epithelial cells (both goblet and non-goblet cells) to be collected from the conjunctival mucosa in a quasi-painless and non-invasive way, for the purpose of analyses and diagnosis. EYEPRIM® device should become a diagnostic test template in the near future. "Through this agreement, we are providing Iris Pharma access to our patented technology which they can use in their continued development of high level and expert preclinical services," said Pierre Roy, President, OPIA Technologies. "The outcome of such an agreement is very promising, thus, the initial results of our collaboration will be presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2011 Annual Meeting in May on a poster on the evaluation of membranes material for impression cytology." About Iris Pharma: Iris Pharma is an independent CRO that specializes in preclinical and clinical research in the field of ophthalmology. Founded in 1989 by Dr Pierre-Paul Elena, Iris Pharma offers its services and expertise in the development of ophthalmic drugs and ocular medical devices to the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology companies around the world. Among its clients, 8 out of the top 10 world’s largest pharmaceuticals have chosen Iris Pharma. The company has five main areas of activity: preclinical studies and services, clinical trials (Phase I and IV and medico-marketing surveys), bioanalysis, preclinical formulation, and consulting services. Iris Pharma was recently awarded the "High Performance Prize" from the Newspaper Les Echos in recognition of its growth performance. About Opia: Founded in january 2010, laureate of the 11th French National Contest for Innovative Companies and based at the new Vision Institute in Paris, OPIA Technologies is a company dedicated to the development of innovative medical devices, from prototyping to industrialization. The business strategy is to focus on devices for ophthalmology, used to diagnose, prevent or treat diseases of ocular surface, anterior and posterior segments of the eye. The main project at OPIA is EYEPRIM®, a device platform to perform ocular surface biopsies of the living eye enabling further analysis to help diagnose most ocular surface disorders: dry eye, allergies or blepharitis... General contact Sophie Chiabaut Iris Pharma e-mail: s.chiabaut@iris-pharma.com Press contact Katia Barcaroli Iris Pharma e-mail: k.barcaroli@iris-pharma.com Tel.: +33 4 93 59 49 59 - Fax: +33 4 93 59 49 50 Iris-Pharma - Les Nertières - Allée Hector Pintus - 06610 La Gaude - France website: http://www.iris-pharma.com Tel.: +33 1 53 46 26 82 - Fax: +33 1 48 03 49 75 OPIA Technologies - Institut de la Vision - 17, Rue Moreau - 75012 Paris - France website: http://www.opiatech.com |
Iris Pharma, A Global Service Provider of Preclinical and Clinical Research in Ophthalmology