"We are very pleased about the cooperation with Novaliq, a pioneer for groundbreaking non-aqueous eye drop technology. With regard to the unique properties and unprecedented clinical data of NOV03, we firmly believe that it will offer great clinical benefits to Japanese patients," said Shuhei Yoshida, President of Senju Pharmaceutical.

NOV03 is the first first-in-class preparation without preservatives to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye. Its unique mode of action starts directly at the tear evaporation by forming a monolayer at the interface between the liquid and the air of the tear film. NOV03 has demonstrated its safety and efficacy in this indication in several, sufficiently controlled studies with patients with a history of dry eyes and clinical signs of meibom gland dysfunction.

In Japan, more than 5 million patients are potentially diagnosed with dry eye [1] and the current possibilities for treating the evaporative dry eye or dry eye associated with clinical signs of meibom gland dysfunction are limited.

"We are proud to partner with Senju Pharmaceutical, a leading ophthalmologist in Japan, to provide NOV03 to patients in Japan," said Dr. Christian Roesky, CEO, Novaliq. "NOV03 offers a new and unique mechanism of action and is clinically validated. Its safety and effectiveness have been proven in numerous studies in Europe, the United States and China. With around 10 million units sold in Europe and Australia since its launch in 2015, our non-aqueous EyeSol® technology has proven to be safe and well accepted."

According to the terms of the license agreement, Novaliq is entitled to advance and milestone payments when registration and sales milestones are reached, as well as to license fees for the net sales of NOV03 in Japan.