PolyActiva and RareSight Form Rare Pediatric Retinal Diseases Strategic Collaboration

Rare Daily Staff

PolyActiva, which has a novel drug delivery technology to improve outcomes for patients with ocular conditions, has entered into a strategic collaboration with RareSight to advance therapies for rare pediatric retinal diseases that currently have no approved drug treatments.

The research collaboration agreement, leveraging PolyActiva’s proprietary drug delivery platform, PREZIA, will offer first-of-its-kind pro-drug candidates to people affected by blinding eye conditions. Administered intravitreally, the approach will deliver sustained-release treatment directly to the retina, requiring no patient administration—a key benefit for children and their caregivers.

Unlike traditional polymer matrix or nanoparticle-based systems that rely on passive diffusion, PREZIA uses covalent bonding to attach therapeutic agents to a polymer backbone. This approach enables precise, consistent, and fully customizable drug release over periods ranging from one week to more than one year. The platform’s biodegradable design eliminates residual buildup and supports repeat dosing. PREZIA-based therapies can be formulated as rod-shaped implants or injectable gels, and they are compatible with both single-agent and combination therapies for a broad range of ocular conditions. The PREZIA technology is unique in that it allows for new patent protection over existing drugs when delivered with this platform.

Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are rare genetic disorders that cause progressive vision loss and blindness, with symptoms often beginning in childhood. IRDs collectively affect as many as 6.8 million people worldwide. There are no approved drug treatments for these severe and progressive genetic ophthalmic conditions.

“By combining RareSight’s therapeutic discovery and development expertise with PolyActiva’s novel drug delivery platform, this collaboration represents a major step toward transforming how inherited eye diseases are treated,” said Carmen Caricchio, CEO and founder of RareSight. “Together, we are advancing a new class of long-acting pharmacologic therapies to address early-onset vision loss, with the potential to change a child’s life and bring hope to generations to come.”