Drug development is a game of probabilities, and Bausch + Lomb just lost one. The company announced Thursday it's pulling the plug on BL1107 as a topical glaucoma treatment after the candidate whiffed in a Phase 2 clinical trial.
The randomized, double-masked study enrolled 159 adults with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. After 28 days, BL1107 failed to improve visual field mean deviation — the primary endpoint. Key secondary measures, like low-luminance best-corrected visual acuity responder rates, also came up short.
There was a silver lining: the drug did reduce intraocular pressure at Day 28, hitting one secondary endpoint and showing it was engaging its target in the eye. Safety was consistent with prior studies, with no new red flags.
But that wasn't enough to keep the glaucoma program alive. Bausch + Lomb is now pivoting to a different strategy for BL1107: a sustained-release implant for geographic atrophy (GA), the advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration. The company acquired Whitecap Biosciences in 2025 primarily for this implant technology.
Yehia Hashad, Bausch + Lomb's chief medical officer, framed the decision as part of a broader portfolio approach. "Drug development success depends on a portfolio of programs rather than a single asset," he said. He added that evaluating multiple scientific approaches lets the company make better investment decisions, even when individual programs don't pan out.
The glaucoma program had shown promise earlier: BL1107 (then called WB007) produced encouraging visual acuity findings in a small Phase 1/2a study. But the larger Phase 2 data told a different story. Now, the company is doubling down on the GA implant, with clinical trials expected to begin in 2028.
Bausch + Lomb also said it will continue working with Ripple Therapeutics, whose controlled-release technology chemically engineers drugs into sustained-release pharmaceuticals without using polymers — a key piece of the implant's design.
Investors weren't thrilled. Shares of Bausch + Lomb (BLCO) were down 1.42% at $16.49 on Friday.
