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pSivida acquires Icon, rebrands as EyePoint Pharmaceuticals
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pSivida Corp. has acquired the specialty biopharmaceutical company Icon Bioscience Inc. and will rebrand as EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, according to pSivida CEO Nancy Lurker, who spoke with Healio.com/OSN.
Icon’s lead product candidate Dexycu (dexamethasone intraocular suspension 9%), a long-acting intraocular product approved for postoperative inflammation, was approved by the FDA on Feb. 9. Administered at the end of cataract surgery, Dexycu uses Icon’s Verisome drug-delivery platform, which allows for a single injection that releases product over time, according to a press release.
The name change comes as the company transforms from a research and development company to a fully integrated commercial biopharmaceutical company, Lurker said.
“It’s very exciting because it puts the company on a potentially tremendous growth trajectory,” she said of the acquisition. The name change will be effective April 2.
The company has partnered with two finance companies, EW Healthcare Partners and SWK Holdings Corporation, to fund the commercial development of Dexycu, as well as pSivida’s Durasert treatment for posterior segment uveitis, which uses nanotechnology to inject a microinsert for the treatment of noninfectious uveitis for up to 3 years.
EW Healthcare Partners will make equity investments up to $60.5 million, and SWK Holdings will provide up to $20 million in debt financing, the release said.
EW Healthcare Partners Managing Director Ron Eastman will join the company’s board of directors.
EyePoint plans to launch Dexycu commercially in the first half of 2019, and if they receive FDA approval for Durasert, which has a PDUFA date of Nov. 5, 2018, it will also be launched in the first half of next year, Lurker said.
“We now have a substantial amount of capital to do that buildout and in parallel we will continue to be opportunistic on other potential growth opportunities for the company,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a real positive benefit for patients, physicians and hopefully shareholders as well.” – by Rebecca L. Forand