Nicox S.A. the international ophthalmic R&D company, today announced that it has received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for AC-170, its novel, proprietary, cetirizine eye drop formulation, for the treatment of ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis.
Nicox said that the FDA`s stated reason for the CRL pertains solely to a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspection at a third party facility producing the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) cetirizine and supplying it to the manufacturer of the finished product. The safety and efficacy data submitted by Nicox in the AC-170 NDA have not resulted in the FDA requesting any further clinical or non-clinical testing for the approval of the AC-170 NDA. Furthermore, the CRL did not include any concerns related to the finished product manufacturing facility.
Since the receipt of the CRL, Nicox has been contacting its suppliers to assess the timeline for the API manufacturer to address the FDA`s concerns. Once these have been addressed, Nicox will then resubmit the AC-170 NDA.
Nicox About AC-170
AC-170 is a novel formulation of cetirizine, the active ingredient in Zyrtec, which has been developed for the first time for topical application in the eye for the treatment of ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis. Cetirizine is a second generation antihistamine and mast cell stabilizer that binds competitively to histamine receptor sites to reduce swelling, itching and vasodilation. Cetirizine, as an approved oral drug, has a well-characterized systemic safety and efficacy profile with worldwide exposure representing more than 300 million patient-years2-3-4. AC-170 is covered by two granted U.S. patents expiring in 2030 and 2032.
Approval of the AC-170 NDA prior to 1st December 2016 will trigger a milestone payment of $35 million in Nicox shares to ex-Aciex shareholders or $10 million in Nicox shares if approval of the NDA is received after this date. AC-170 was developed by Aciex Therapeutics, Inc., which became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nicox in October 2014 and was subsequently renamed Nicox Ophthalmics, Inc.