Xoma lands orphan drug status for eye disease treatment

Xoma Corp. lead drug, gevokizumab, was granted orphan drug status for an inflammatory eye disease, the company said Wednesday. Orphan drug designation, awarded by the Food and Drug Administration for experimental treatments for diseases with fewer than 200,000 patients, allows Berkeley-based Xoma (NASDAQ: XOMA) to receive tax breaks for 50 percent of the cost of its clinical trials in non-infectious uveitis and pan-uveitis and FDA fee waiver. It also would receive seven years of U.S. market exclusivity if a drug is approved.