Ocugen signs term sheet to license OCU400 for MENA region

Ocugen announced on July 13, 2026 that it had signed a binding term sheet to negotiate and enter into a license agreement with Roots Pharmaceutical and its strategic partner Al-Dhow International Holding, giving them exclusive rights to OCU400, Ocugen's modifier gene therapy for Retinitis Pigmentosa, in the Middle East and North Africa region.¹

Under the term sheet, Ocugen expects to receive upfront license fees and near-term development milestone payments totaling up to $4 million.¹ Beyond that, the company could earn sales milestone payments of up to $255 million, plus a 22% royalty on net sales of OCU400 booked by its MENA partner.¹ The companies also outlined a manufacturing arrangement: Ocugen would produce commercial supply of OCU400 under a related supply agreement.¹

The two sides have not yet finalized the deal. Additional terms are expected to be disclosed once a definitive agreement is executed, which the companies anticipate within the next 90 days.¹

Separately, Ocugen gave an update on its lead clinical program. The company is continuing Phase 3 testing of OCU400 in a study called "liMeliGhT," with topline data expected in the first quarter of 2027, to be followed by a Biologics License Application submission.¹

Ocugen describes itself as a gene therapy company focused on blindness diseases, with programs in development for inherited retinal diseases including retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, and geographic atrophy, a late-stage form of dry age-related macular degeneration.¹ The company cautioned that statements about the pending MENA agreement, including its timing and eventual terms, are forward-looking and subject to change, and that final terms could differ from what was outlined in the term sheet.