CURACLE and Théa Announce Licensing and Collaboration Agreement for the Development and Commercialization of Orally Administered Treatment for Diabetic Macular Edema and Wet-AMD
27.10.2021 18:47:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
CURACLE , a Korea-based biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Théa Open Innovation, the sister company of Théa, Europe’s number one independent ophthalmic company with a 150-year history, for the development and commercialization of CURACLE’s CU06-RE, that has the potential to become the first orally administered treatment for diabetic macular edema and wet age-related macular degeneration (wet-AMD).
Under the terms of the agreement, CURACLE will receive an upfront payment of $6 million and could receive up to an additional $157.5 million in potential development, regulatory and sales milestones, as well as royalties on sales if CU06-RE is successfully developed, which will entitle CURACLE to receive up to $2 billion in total payments. Théa and CURACLE will closely collaborate on the clinical development of this novel oral drug. CURACLE will be responsible for the Phase I and II clinical studies with TOI providing both financial and infrastructure support. Further, under the terms of the agreement, CURACLE will retain the marketing rights in all Asia countries while Théa will have the marketing rights in all other countries around the world.
According to Dr. Young Guen Kwon, the founder of CURACLE, “CU06-RE is expected to be the world’s first `orally administered' treatment for diabetic macular edema and wet-AMD, and because of its high efficacy and convenience as an oral treatment, CU06-RE promises to establish the standard for treatment that reduces the number of intraocular injection (IVT) administration made possible through co-administration with anti-VEGF.” Dr. Kwon added that “As the world’s first vascular endothelial dysfunction blocker developed with CURACLE’s SOLVADYS platform technology, CU06-RE can be applied to patients whose symptoms have worsened due to resistance to anti-VEGF injections, providing great hope for patients who currently do not have a suitable treatment option.”
”Through this strategic and collaborative alliance with Théa, a leading global ophthalmic company, we have been able to accelerate the development of CU06-RE as the world’s first oral treatment and the world’s first vascular endothelial dysfunction blocker,” said Jae Hyeon Ryu, the CEO of CURACLE. "We look forward to providing innovative treatments faster to the millions of patients with diabetic macular edema and wet-AMD around the world who are suffering without an appropriate treatment option,” added Mr. Ryu.
“We are excited about partnering with CURACLE, a truly innovative biotechnology company with a game changing technology platform,” remarked Mr. Jean-Frédéric Chibret, president of Théa. Mr. Chibret further commented that “through this licensing collaboration, Théa and CURACLE will provide a new first-in-class treatment with an alternative and non-invasive route of administration and most importantly, convenience for patients. This agreement is in line with the other partnerships that we have set up over the last two years and further illustrates our will to build a strong and diversified retina pipeline.”
About CURACLE
CURACLE (KOSDAQ) is a Korea-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of aged-related vascular and intractable metabolic diseases and cancers.
Founded in 2016, CURACLE has developed the disease-expressive screening system, SOLVADYS Platform, which screens substances that directly convert the pathological characteristics of the capillary vessels such as leakage, inflammatory activation, and apoptosis using human organ-specific primary endothelial cells. The SOLVADYS Platform dramatically improves the efficacy and ease of administration for acute and chronic conditions that are accompanied by vascular leakage, inflammation and loss of endothelial cells.
For more information visit: https://www.curacle.com
About Théa and Théa Open Innovation
Théa is a leading independent European pharmaceutical company specialized in the research, development, and commercialization of eye-care products.
Based in Clermont-Ferrand, France, this family-owned company has continued to expand by opening more than 30 affiliates and offices in Europe, Russia, North Africa, North and South America. Its products are available in 75 countries.
Théa Open Innovation (TOI) is a sister company of Théa. TOI's mission is to set up partnerships with companies and universities to help bring the most innovative products in ophthalmology to the market.
For more information visit: https://www.laboratoires-thea.com/en
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211027005840/en/
Contact information
Jeonghan Kim
CURACLE Co. Ltd
jeonghan.kim@curacle.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
VerSprite Launches Fork and Knife: AI-Driven Threat Modeling and Adversarial Testing Built for the Speed of Modern Software27.6.2026 00:28:00 EEST | Press release
VerSprite, a global leader in risk-based threat modeling and the firm behind the PASTA (Process for Attack Simulation and Threat Analysis) methodology, today announced the general availability of Fork (www.forktm.com), a continuous application threat modeling platform, alongside Knife, an AI-led, human-on-the-loop adversarial testing platform for web applications and web API endpoints. Together, the two products operationalize a new model for product security—one where applications are securely designed, continuously modeled, and actively tested as part of the build process itself. The launch addresses a problem every security leader knows but few tools have solved: threat modeling is essential, never more so than in an AI-driven era, yet it has remained slow, manual, and anchored to frameworks designed for a different threat landscape. The problem: threat modeling matters more than ever—and most tools are stuck in 2005 For two decades, application threat modeling has leaned heavily on
Venture Global Announces Closing of $1.5 Billion Senior Secured Vessel Financing Facility26.6.2026 23:30:00 EEST | Press release
Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE: VG) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Venture Global Shipping Holdings, LLC (“VGSH”), has entered into a Credit and Guaranty Agreement providing for a senior secured term loan facility (the “Facility”) in an aggregate principal amount of up to $1,500,000,000. The Facility will mature on June 26, 2032. Deutsche Bank and ING acted as coordinating lead arrangers for the Facility. ING also serves as facility agent and security trustee. VGSH intends to use the net proceeds from the Facility for general corporate purposes, including to reimburse Venture Global LNG, Inc. for payments previously made by it or its affiliates in connection with the acquisition of nine LNG carriers, funding certain reserve accounts, and paying transaction fees and expenses. About Venture Global Venture Global is an American producer and exporter of low-cost U.S. liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) with over 100 MTPA of capacity in production, construction, or development. Ven
Capco Recognized by OpenAI for Innovation and Responsible AI Leadership26.6.2026 21:00:00 EEST | Press release
Global management and technology consultancy Capco, a Wipro company,has been recognized by OpenAI for both AI innovation and responsible AI leadership. Capco received the AI Governance & Risk Excellence Award at the recent OpenAI Partner Summit 2026 in San Francisco, highlighting Capco’s ability to deliver enterprise-grade AI outcomes in highly regulated environments. The award recognizes Capco’s expert advantage when helping financial services and energy organizations to scale AI with confidence, balancing innovation with strong governance to reduce risk, strengthen compliance and improve customer outcomes. This award follows Capco winning the OpenAI Codex Hackathon, where its UK AI Lab competed against more than 30 teams and over 100 participants from across the OpenAI partner ecosystem. Capco's winning entry Sentra – a consulting-led, AI-powered retail banking solution – uses digital twin technology to identify vulnerable customers and recommend explainable next-best actions for fro
Incyte Announces Positive CHMP Opinion for Opzelura ® (ruxolitinib) Cream for the Treatment of Adults with Moderate Atopic Dermatitis26.6.2026 14:30:00 EEST | Press release
Incyte (Nasdaq: INCY) today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued a positive opinion recommending the approval of Opzelura® (ruxolitinib) cream for the treatment of moderate atopic dermatitis (AD) in adult patients for whom topical corticosteroids (TCSs) and topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs) are inadequate or inappropriate. “AD is a chronic skin condition that can have a significant impact on daily life. The positive CHMP opinion for Opzelura marks meaningful progress toward bringing the first non-steroidal topical JAK treatment option to adults in Europe with moderate AD for whom standard topical therapies have failed,” said Lee Heeson, Executive Vice President and Head of Incyte International. “If approved by the European Commission, Opzelura could help address an important gap for patients who have limited treatment options when TCSs and TCIs are inadequate or inappropriate.” The positive CHMP o
Datroway ® Recommended for Approval in the EU by CHMP as First-Line Treatment for Patients with Metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer Who Are Not Candidates for Immunotherapy26.6.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
Datroway® (datopotamab deruxtecan) has been recommended for approval in the European Union (EU) as monotherapy for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) who are not candidates for PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy. Datroway is a specifically engineered TROP2 directed DXd antibody drug conjugate (ADC) discovered by Daiichi Sankyo (TSE: 4568) and being jointly developed and commercialized by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/NYSE: AZN). The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) based its positive opinion on results from the TROPION-Breast02phase 3 trial, which werepresented at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress and published in Annals of Oncology. The recommendation will now be reviewed by the European Commission, which has the authority to grant marketing authorizations for medicines in the EU. In TROPION-Breast02, Datroway demonstrated a
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom