BLOG: Exiting, slowly, stage left: Novartis sheds more minor drugs
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How were your holidays? This is kinda old news to be honest, seeing as how it was announced in a press release by the acquiring company just before Christmas.
Admit it, if I put this out there during the 12 days of Christmas or Hannukah, you never would have seen it. Still, it’s important for what it means going forward if you are a dry eye doc, and in this case, it also matters if you are a cataract surgeon and find it necessary to do the occasional YAG capsulotomy. And if you’re a curious sort like I am, you’re also sorta wondering when and why Imprimis changed its name to Harrow.
Source: Adobe Stock.
As I noted a couple of times last fall, Novartis has informed the financial markets that it plans to exit the eye care space by the end of the second quarter in 2023. This despite the fact that it finally got Medicare Part D coverage for Xiidra. It turns out that it has been quietly shedding some of its minor assets, all of which have been picked up by Harrow/Imprimis. Iopidine (both strengths for your YAGs), Maxitrol and Moxeza were moved in December 2021, with Ilevro, Nevanac, Vigamox, Maxidex and Triesence following in December 2022.
Which pretty much leaves Xiidra and Beovu in the Novartis pantry.
As I’ve written, Novartis has been quite transparent about its sales goals; it is committed to spaces in which it sells several multibillion-dollar drugs. Eye care does not. The only question that remains for Novartis, and for all of us in the dry eye space, is where will Xiidra land? Everyone thinks it’s going to be Alcon, and spending a few billion dollars on Xiidra would certainly announce the return of “Mother Alcon.” Xiidra was a $3.4 billion upfront acquisition back in the day. I guess another question is how much of a haircut is Novartis willing to take on Xiidra so that it can just wash its hands of eye care and call it a day. Who knows?
Maybe whoever knows why Imprimis changed its name to Harrow can tell us.
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