Novartis AG and Ophthotech Corp.'s joint phase 3 clinical trial to treat macular degeneration missed its primary endpoint.

The combination therapy of anti-platelet-derived growth factor drug Fovista with Lucentis, an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drug, did not achieve its primary endpoint of change in visual acuity at 12 months for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, a cause of vision loss.

Ophthotech entered into a licensing and commercialization agreement with Novartis in May 2014 and granted the pharmaceutical giant exclusive rights to commercialize Fovista outside of the U.S. in a deal involving $330 million in upfront fees and valued at over $1.0 billion at the time.