Ocular therapeutics company Novaliq said today that it inked a strategic licensing agreement with AFT Pharmaceuticals for the commercialization of its dry eye therapy, NovaTears, in Australia and New Zealand.

NovaTears is the Germany-based company’s 1st commercially available product indicated for the treatment of evaporative dry eye diseases.

According to the agreement, AFT has an exclusive license to commercialize NovaTears across Australia. Novaliq will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and royalties on net sales, the company reported.

“Novaliq is delighted to collaborate with AFT, a leading and innovative pharmaceutical company with a strong commitment to eye care,” Novaliq CEO Christian Roesky said in prepared remarks. “NovaTears provides a highly differentiated and clinically validated treatment option that significantly improves the signs and symptoms of evaporative DED and Meibomian gland dysfunction, highly underserved diseases. We are confident that dry eye patients in Australasia will greatly benefit from the use of NovaTears and our partnership with AFT.”

“AFT is dedicated to bringing innovative products to market that make a real difference to people’s health,” AFT CEO Dr. Hartley Atkinson added. “The addition of NovaTears to our eye care line will be welcomed by doctors and patients alike. It’s a 1st-in-class, water-free and preservative-free treatment based on Novaliq’s proprietary EyeSol technology platform. NovaTears supports the lipid layer of the tear film by its ability to quickly spread and be absorbed into the eye. We believe that this feature – combined with its small droplet size – will provide superior benefits to patients with evaporative dry eye disease.”