Sun Pharma, Intrexon Form Joint Venture to Develop New Class of Therapeutics for Ocular Diseases

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., an international specialty pharmaceutical company focused on chronic diseases, through its subsidiary, and Intrexon Corporation

, a leader in synthetic biology, today announced the formation of a joint venture to develop controllable gene-based therapies for the treatment of ocular diseases that cause partial or total blindness in millions of people worldwide. Initial targets are dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa. The joint venture will leverage Sun Pharma's global capabilities and experience in developing and manufacturing complex dosage forms and specialty pharmaceuticals for niche therapy areas. Intrexon and Sun Pharma will share in both the financing of, and the revenues from, the joint venture. Through an Exclusive Channel Collaboration (ECC), the joint venture will have access to Intrexon's full suite of proprietary synthetic biology technologies, including the RheoSwitch Therapeutic System® (RTS®) platform.  RTS® is a clinically validated method for controlling the location, concentration and timing of protein expression.  RTS® may address a long-standing limitation of current approaches by enabling patients to receive a targeted biologic