AMO Adds On

SANTA ANA, California – Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) has exercised the option to acquire Quest Vision Technologies, the company announced on Wednesday. The size of the deal, which is not yet finalized, wasn’t disclosed. Quest, based in Tiburon, California, is a privately held company that develops surgically implanted medical devices to correct presbyopia—a form of farsightedness that is very common in people over the age of 45. It will affect 90 million people over the next 10 years, according to AMO. AMO and Quest have developed technology over the last year to treat the condition. Part of the licensing deal gives AMO the option to acquire Quest after one year. Another deal, which sources at AMO describe as a much larger acquisition, is still in the works (see AMO Acquisition Of Visx On Track).

RNAi Gets Past Phase I

BOULDER, Colorado – Sirna Therapeutics has announced that its lead drug to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has successfully completed the first round of clinical trials. This is important because the experimental drug is the first to employ RNA interference (RNAi) technology to get to this stage, and because AMD represents a huge market opportunity. RNAi is a way of turning down the effects of genes that are producing harmful amounts of protein, or proteins that are bad for you, such as those made by viruses (see Top 10 Trends: Silencing the Genes). AMD is currently the most common cause of blindness in those over 60, and more than 50 million people worldwide are irreversibly blind because of it. Toronto, Canada-based AMD Alliance International says there are 13 million sufferers in the United States alone (see New Info on Blindness Gene).

Big Series B for Bayhill

PALO ALTO, California – Bayhill Therapeutics completed a second round of funding worth $35.4 million. The Series B round, led by De Novo Ventures and Lilly Ventures, was accompanied by Series A shareholders CMEA Ventures, Latterell Venture Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, U.S. Venture Partners, and the Vertical Group. Bayhill develops drugs that treat autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Glaxo Vaccine Approved

MIDDLESEX, U.K. – Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline said that its whooping cough vaccine Boostrix has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to immunize 10- to 18-year-olds. It is the first vaccine to prevent the infection for older children, a demographic in which the disease is increasing. The approval could be a considerable boon for the company if a Centers for Disease Control advisory committee decides to recommend widespread whooping cough shots at a meeting in June. Sanofi-Aventis is currently seeking approval for its vaccine, Adacel, which targets all ages over 11 years old.