Eleven Biotherapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company creating novel and differentiated protein-based biotherapeutics for the treatment of ocular diseases, has entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with ThromboGenics, an integrated biopharmaceutical company, to research and develop a protein therapeutic based on a novel biologic target implicated in ophthalmic disease.

The collaboration aims to employ Eleven's proprietary AMP-Rx protein design technology to optimize a novel therapeutic of ThromboGenics' selection to have improved pharmaceutical characteristics and therapeutic benefits.  The novel biologic will be designed to treat back of the eye diseases such as diabetic macular edema.

Eleven will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and is eligible to receive undisclosed development, regulatory and sales milestone payments as well as royalties on potential future sales commensurate with industry standards. ThromboGenics will have the exclusive license to pursue development and commercialization of the novel protein and both companies will work together on preclinical research. 

"Eleven's novel approach to designing protein therapeutics for ocular diseases, which has been demonstrated with EBI-005, our lead product candidate in phase Ib clinical development for dry eye disease, will be applied to discover and optimize novel modulators of this evolving pathway which is central to ophthalmic disease," said Abbie Celniker, president and CEO of Eleven Biotherapeutics.

Patient enrollment and dosing has been completed in a phase Ib clinical study of EBI-005 treating patients with dry eye disease; top-line data is expected in the second half of 2013.