Bausch + Lomb is dropping plans to develop a drug for glaucoma after the experimental treatment failed a mid-stage clinical trial, but it’s not the end of the road for this potential therapy. The ophthalmological products company said it will start a new trial testing the drug in another prevalent vision disorder.
The drug, BL1107, was developed for dosing as an eye drop. After Thursday’s market close, Bausch said that 28 days of topical administration showed this drug did not achieve the Phase 2 test’s main goal of replicating the visual function improvements that were observed in earlier clinical testing as a glaucoma treatment. BL1107 also missed secondary trial goals assessing other measures of visual function.
Still, Vaughan, Ontario-based Bausch said BL1107 engaged its target, demonstrated by the drug meeting a secondary goal of reducing intraocular eye pressure. Bausch also said BL1107’s safety profile was consistent with earlier clinical trials with no new safety signals, which is important as the company proceeds with plans to test this drug in geographic atrophy (GA).
BL1107 is a small molecule agonist of alpha-2, a receptor found in the central and peripheral nervous systems. It’s a validated target already addressed by existing therapies used to reduce intraocular pressure to treat glaucoma. BL1107 (formerly WB007) came from the 2025 acquisition of Whitecap Biosciences. Financial terms were not disclosed at the time of the deal, but in regulatory filings, Bausch said it paid $28 million up front and is responsible for milestone payments plus royalties from sales of commercialized products.
At the time of the Whitecap acquisition, BL1107 was in development for both glaucoma and GA. Bausch said it proceeded with a mid-stage test in glaucoma based on encouraging results from Phase 1/2a testing. But Bausch now says the acquisition was primarily based on the potential to develop BL1107 for GA, an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration. This disorder develops as damage to the macula, the center of the retina, leads to deterioration of central vision.
There are two FDA-approved GA drugs: Syfovre, from Apellis Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Biogen earlier this year, and Izervay from Astellas Pharma. Each drug blocks a different complement system protein associated with chronic inflammation that damages the retina, contributing to GA. Both Izervay and Syfovre are administered as injections into the eye.
Bausch now says its interest in Whitecap’s drug was primarily for its potential applications in GA. The company plans to develop BL1107 for administration via a sustained-release implant, which would offer patients less burdensome dosing compared to the frequent eye injections required of Syfovre and Izervay. To develop BL1107 for GA, Bausch said it is collaborating with Ripple Therapeutics, a company with a technology platform that can chemically engineer drugs into controlled-release formulations without the use of polymers.
There’s been at least one earlier attempt to develop an alpha-2 agonist for GA administration that can be administered via an implant. Allergan reached mid-stage development with brimonidine, a now generic drug that the company first brought to patients in the mid-1990s as a glaucoma treatment. For the GA clinical trial, Allergan administered this drug with a biodegradable intravitreal implant. Allergen terminated this program in Phase 2b testing because of a lower-than-expected GA progression rate in the group that received a sham procedure.
Bausch said it expects BL1107’s clinical trial in GA will begin in 2028. The company added that its pipeline holds more than 60 assets in various stages of development, some that have anticipated milestones in coming months.
“We’ve intentionally built a diversified pipeline because we know innovation requires pursuing multiple scientific hypotheses simultaneously,” Yehia Hashad, executive vice president, R&D and chief medical officer, Bausch + Lomb, said in a prepared statement. “Not every program will succeed, but every study helps us make smarter decisions about where to invest.”
