Ocular Therapeutix settles Mati Therapeutics patent spat, logs CMS win for Dextenza

Ocular Therapeutix (NSDQ:OCUL) said this week it settled a patent spat with Mati Therapeutics and that it won reimbursement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for its Dextenza ocular insert.

In an SEC filing posted yesterday, the Bedford, Mass.-based company said that it settled its litigation with Mati Therapeutics and that both parties dismissed all claims and counterclaims pending against each other in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Through the settlement agreement, both parties granted each other a limited covenant not to sue regarding infringement by Ocular Therapeutix’s Dextenza product, as approved under its New Drug Application number 208742. No financial considerations were paid by either party, and all other terms of the deal were not disclosed, according to an SEC filing.

In a release posted today, Ocular Therapeutix said that CMS has included its Dextenza product, an ocular insert designed to release dexamethasone to relieve pain following ophthalmic surgery, on its list of products preliminarily recommended for a new dedicated Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System J-Code, effective January 1, 2020.

The Dextenza device is designed to deliver drugs for up to 30 days following treatment in a physician’s office. Ocular Therapeutix is positioning its product as a way to eliminate the current standard of care for post-surgical pain – topical steroid eye drops.

The company said it believes that receipt of a J-code will “facilitate reimbursement for a greater number of patients to be treated with Dextenza,” according to a press release.

Ocular Therapeutix said that it also submitted an application for an HCPCS C-code for transitional pass-through payment status and that it expects notification from CMS by the middle of this year.

“We are pleased that CMS has recommended a unique J-code for Dextenza. Finalization of this recommendation later this year would be an important achievement for the Company and for the potential commercial success of Dextenza,” prez & CEO Antony Mattessich said in a press release.

Last month, Ocular Therapeutix said that the FDA has accepted a new supplemental New Drug Application for its Dextenza.