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Allergan to acquire AqueSys
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Allergan will acquire AqueSys in an all-cash transaction of $300 million, the company announced in a press release.
Under the terms of the agreement, the upfront payment includes regulatory approval and commercialization milestone payments related to AqueSys’ lead development programs including the Xen45 gel stent, the release said.
“The line between drug delivery and drug therapy is starting to blur, and our goal is to be a leader in eye care and offer our physicians and their patients a whole range of solutions,” Brent Saunders, CEO and president of Allergan, told Ocular Surgery News. “Dropless therapy like we have with the AqueSys MIGS or even our own [sustained-release] bimatoprost, which is in phase 3 development, offers physicians and patients alternatives to straight pharmaceutical intervention.”
In the European Union, the Xen45 is CE marked as a standalone procedure or for use in conjunction with cataract surgery to reduce IOP in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma in whom previous medical treatments have failed. In the U.S., the minimally invasive device is undergoing a final investigational device exemption clinical trial, according to the release.
“I think what attracted us to AqueSys specifically was the team that Ron Bache, their CEO, built; the clinical data that sits behind the Xen45 shunt; and the opportunity to serve patients with this additional need of IOP reduction in glaucoma,” Saunders said.
Pending approvals, Allergan expects to close the transaction in the fourth quarter.
“The MIGS market is a new but growing market,” Saunders added. “There are significant medical needs in glaucoma still, and so when we look at being able to provide, in clinical trial data, roughly 30% from treated baseline IOP reduction, we saw the Xen45 as a potential opportunity [with or without cataract surgery] for physicians to really treat patients and help them reach a goal of IOP reduction.” – by Kristie L. Kahl
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include additional information from Brent Saunders.