SeaBeLife announced it has entered into a joint development agreement with Unither Pharmaceuticals, a French pharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) and maker of sterile single-dose formulations.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies says the collaboration will support the development and production of clinical and commercial batches of SBL03, SeaBeLife’s topical ophthalmic drug candidate intended to treat degenerative retinal disorders including geographic atrophy and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Under the agreement, SeaBeLife and Unither will accelerate pharmaceutical and regulatory preclinical development, with the goal of initiating first-in-human clinical trials in 2027. The partnership encompasses formulation optimization, industrial scale-up, manufacturing of preclinical and GMP batches, analytical development, and preparation of the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) package required for regulatory submission.

SeaBeLife will retain full ownership of SBL03, while Unither will lead the pharmaceutical development and production of preclinical material. According to both companies, the arrangement is designed to combine SeaBeLife’s scientific leadership in targeting necroptosis and ferroptosis with Unither’s industrial and manufacturing expertise.

“This collaboration with Unither represents a major milestone in bringing our first-in-class candidate targeting necroptosis and ferroptosis to maturity,” said Morgane Rousselot, PhD, CEO and co-founder of SeaBeLife. “Their industrial expertise and international footprint mean that we’re going into CMC development with a strong, ambitious framework in place, to safeguard our clinical and regulatory development pathway and foster a robust route to scale-up. Together, we’re building the clinical path for a program that could transform the way that severe retinal diseases are managed.”

Initial formulation testing and process development will begin immediately. The agreement also establishes a joint steering committee to oversee project execution and validate milestones.

SeaBeLife is developing a platform of small-molecule compounds capable of simultaneously modulating necroptosis and ferroptosis—two key regulated cell death pathways implicated in severe acute, rare, and chronic diseases with limited therapeutic options. In early 2025, the company reported encouraging preclinical efficacy results for SBL03 in geographic atrophy.