Ocular Therapeutix Stock Up 26% On $10 Mln Regeneron Drug Development Deal

Ocular Therapeutix Inc. shares rose 26% in premarket trade Thursday after the company announced a $10 million drug development deal with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. . The partnership's focus is on developing a sustained-release formulation of Regeneron's retinal disease drug aflibercept, also called Eylea. The formulation would advance the standard of care for such diseases by reducing injection frequency, Ocular said. Under the option and licensing agreement, Ocular could qualify for up to $305 million in milestone and royalty payments and retains some development rights for the sustained-release platform. Regeneron shares were down a slight 0.9% in premarket trade. Shares of Ocular rose 27.2% over the last three months, compared with a 0.6% decline in the S&P 500 . Regeneron shares rose 2.5% over the same period.