Kala Bio signs exclusive US deal for Virotek eye genetics tests
Kala Bio has finalised an exclusive distribution and reseller agreement with Virotek Inc., giving the NASDAQ-listed company the right to market, promote and sell Virotek's ophthalmology genomic testing programme across the United States. The deal takes effect on 4 September 2026 and runs for an initial one-year term, with exclusivity contingent on Kala meeting agreed commercial milestones.
Under the structure, Virotek retains responsibility for kit supply, specimen processing and clinical reporting, while Kala's channel partners handle sales and distribution. The companies have agreed a profit-sharing arrangement that activates once Virotek has recovered its programme costs. No revenue figures or milestone thresholds were disclosed.
The deal
The agreement also grants Kala a right of first refusal on certain future Virotek ophthalmology products or services, and establishes a framework for activating additional clinical verticals over time, including oncology, preventive health, telehealth and white-label channels. The companies may also explore US-based laboratory capacity for the programme alongside Virotek's existing accredited laboratory operations, subject to further agreement.
Avi Minkowitz, chief executive of Kala Bio, said the agreement grants the company "exclusive US rights to a commercially active genomic testing programme in ophthalmology, a field in which Kala has operated for more than a decade." He framed the deal as one step in a broader strategy of building operating scale through "disciplined, staged transactions."
Virotek chairman and chief executive Saeid Babaei said Kala's commercial reach and public-company platform provided "a fast path to eye care practices, telehealth channels, and patients across the United States."
Market context
The US genetic testing market was valued at approximately $5.7 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach around $6.9 billion in 2026, according to third-party research cited in the release. In ophthalmology specifically, inherited retinal diseases affect an estimated one in 3,450 individuals; US registry data identified more than 40,000 new diagnoses of retinitis pigmentosa, choroideremia and achromatopsia over a seven-year period.
Ophthalmic genomic testing sits within a broader diagnostic genetics market that has attracted increasing interest from both specialist diagnostics companies and diversified genomics platforms. Panel-based testing for inherited retinal dystrophies has moved toward routine clinical use in recent years, driven in part by the availability of gene therapies such as Luxturna for RPE65-associated disease, which has raised awareness among retinal specialists of the diagnostic value of genetic confirmation. The entry of a commercially oriented distributor with an existing ophthalmology presence could accelerate uptake in community eye care settings, though sales-milestone contingencies mean exclusivity is not guaranteed beyond the first year.
Kala Bio's "About" section describes a company that has shifted significantly from its origins as an ophthalmic drug developer: the firm now presents itself as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company building an AI infrastructure platform for biotech, with a separate biologics pipeline. Investors may wish to weigh the strategic coherence of adding a diagnostics distribution arm alongside those two existing strands. Kala said it has not established any revenue projections from the agreement.