Allergan Pays $300M Cash For Eye Device Maker AqueSys
By Jof Enriquez,
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Allergan plc has agreed to buy ophthalmic device developer AqueSys, Inc. for $300 million in cash up front, plus regulatory and commercial milestone payments. The transaction comes two months after Allergan's decision to buy another eye device maker, Oculeve, to strengthen its optical care offerings.
The all-cash deal to acquire Aliso Viejo, CA-based AqueSys is expected to close later this year, according to a report from the Orange County Register, which notes that buyer Allergan was previously headquartered in nearby Irvine – where it still maintains a significant presence – before being bought by Dublin, Ireland-based Actavis earlier this year.
Allergan's purchase of AqueSys includes the latter's clinical-stage XEN45 device for the treatment of glaucoma. According to a press release, XEN45 is a soft shunt that is implanted in the subconjunctival space in the eye through a minimally invasive procedure performed by ophthalmologists using a single-use, pre-loaded proprietary injector. The implant facilitates the flow of aqueous fluid to reduce intra-ocular pressure (IOP) – a major risk factor for optic nerve damage that causes glaucoma and vision loss.
"The XEN45 platform is a minimally invasive reinvention of the sub-conjunctival outflow approach to the treatment of glaucoma, one used for many years by surgeons," said Robert N. Weinreb, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and director of the Shiley Eye Institute at the University of California San Diego, in the release. "XEN45 provides the advantage of a simpler and less invasive way of conducting a well-established procedure to treat our glaucoma patients, and if approved in the U.S., would provide an exciting new option for ophthalmologists."
XEN45 is in its final U.S. Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical trial, fully enrolled in the second quarter of 2015, according to the release. A 510(k) approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected by 2016 or 2017. The device already has been granted CE mark in the European Union for reduction of intraocular pressure in patients with primary open angle glaucoma where previous medical treatments have failed.
Allergan claims that, as of 2010, 60.5 million people globally were living with glaucoma, a number that could rise to almost 80 million by 2020. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, and about 2.3 million Americans suffer from glaucoma, with an additional 2 million people not aware that they have the condition.
"The acquisition of AqueSys and its XEN45 program builds on Allergan's deep and long-standing commitment to innovation in eye care," said Brent Saunders, CEO and president of Allergan, in the release. "Our eye care team has a strong track record of introducing novel treatments for patients with glaucoma. The acquisition of the XEN45 device demonstrates our commitment to alternative next-generation glaucoma treatments which are appealing to both patients and physicians and extend beyond conventional medication eyedrops."
It is the second time in as many months that Allergan has acquired an early-stage ophthalmic device manufacturer to broaden its eye care portfolio. In July, the company bought San Francisco, CA-based startup Oculeve, a developer of a nasally-implanted neurostimulator called OD-01. The tiny device can reportedly increase tear production by firing micro-electric pulses in underproducing lacrimal glands of those with dry eye disease.