Ocugen and Roots Pharmaceutical Complete License Agreement for OCU400 Modifier Gene Therapy for Retinitis Pigmentosa in the Middle East and North Africa
Key Highlights
- ➤License grants Roots Pharmaceutical exclusive MENA rights to OCU400 for retinitis pigmentosa
- ➤Milestone payments reach $4 million development and $255 million sales
- ➤Ocugen receives 22% royalties on OCU400 net sales generated by Roots
- ➤Ocugen will manufacture and supply commercial OCU400 under related agreement
- ➤Phase 3 liMeliGhT topline data expected in first quarter of 2027
Expert Statements
Shankar Musunuri, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Ocugen
“By partnering with Roots Pharmaceutical, an established leader with strong reach across the Middle East and North Africa, we are expanding our ability to bring our potential one-time gene therapy to patients in a region where retinitis pigmentosa is highly prevalent and the unmet medical need is significant.”
Shankar Musunuri, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Ocugen
“This agreement represents another important step in our strategy to build strong regional partnerships and expand global access to our potentially transformational gene therapies.”
Islam Zayed, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Roots Pharmaceutical
“This partnership reflects Roots' commitment to bringing breakthrough gene therapies to the Middle East and North Africa, leading and shaping the treatment paradigm for our patients, which is our main objective.”
Islam Zayed, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Roots Pharmaceutical
“OCU400 has the potential to change the outlook, and the lives, of patients living with retinitis pigmentosa.”
Islam Zayed, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Roots Pharmaceutical
“We look forward to working closely with Ocugen to build the diagnosis-to-treatment pathway that gene therapy requires across our markets, and to exploring further collaboration across Ocugen's ophthalmology pipeline.”
* Establishes strategic commercial reach across the Middle East and North Africa, advancing Ocugen’s goal of enabling global patient access to potentially transformational gene therapies * Expands access to a potential one-time gene therapy for retinitis pigmentosa in a region with high disease prevalence and substantial unmet need * Agreement includes upfront license fee and initial development payments up to $4 million, potential sales milestones up to $255 million, and royalties equaling 22% of net sales; Ocugen will manufacture and supply OCU400 MALVERN, Pa., Oct. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ocugen, Inc. (“Ocugen” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: OCGN), a pioneering biotechnology leader in gene therapies for blindness diseases, today announced the execution of a licensing agreement with Roots Pharmaceutical, and its strategic partner Al-Dhow International Holding, for the exclusive rights to OCU400, Ocugen's novel modifier gene therapy for the treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
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