PainReform expands pain management pipeline into opthamology with Layerbio deal

PainReform’s (PRFX) pharmaceutical division signed a strategic investment agreement with LayerBio, a privately held Boston biotechnology company developing proprietary, long-acting, non-opiate treatments for ophthalmic surgery. This agreement marks PainReform’s plan to strategically expand into ophthalmology through the addition of a new drug delivery platform to its specialty pharma, non-opiate pain management pipeline. While the company continues to advance its lead candidate, PRF-110, for the treatment of post-operative pain in general surgery, this strategic investment introduces a complementary technology targeting the high-volume cataract surgery market. LayerBio’s lead product candidate, OcuRing-K, is a patent-protected, sustained-release intraocular ring designed to deliver anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents following cataract procedures. This “dropless” therapy has the potential to replace traditional post-surgical eye drops. Under the agreement, PainReform will receive a majority equity stake in LayerBio as well as a majority position on LayerBio’s board in consideration for an investment based on the successful achievement of milestones of an aggregate amount of $3M. LayerBio has agreed that it will use the proceeds from PainReform solely for funding a planned Phase II clinical trial of OcuRing-K under an FDA approved protocol. PainReform shall make an initial investment of $600K upon closing and the remainder will be provided in tranches, conditioned on the successful achievement of key development milestones. The management of LayerBio will continue to lead product development and operations, with strategic oversight and monitoring provided by PainReform. The transaction is expected to close by the end of July, subject to customary closing conditions.