Blog Tag: Ocular

Allergan recently announced that it has completed its acquisition of AqueSys.  AqueSys is a privately held company, headquartered in Orange County, California, focusing on “commercializing implantable devices that will significantly improve the treatment of glaucoma, . . . the world’s leading cause of irreversible blindness.”

According to the press release, Allergan’s acquisition of AqueSys is an all-cash transaction that includes a $300 million up front payment with potential milestone payments contingent on the development of XEN45, AqueSys’ leading product.  Allergan states that the acquisition of “XEN45 adds to Allergan’s strong late-stage eye care pipeline, with therapies in development to treat glaucoma, dry eye disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME).”  Allergan reports that final FDA 510(k) clearance of the XEN45 is expected in late 2016 or early 2017.

Regarding the acquisition, Brent Saunders, CEO and President of Allergan, stated

The acquisition of AqueSys and XEN45 is highly complementary to our leadership position in eye care and underscores our commitment to develop and commercialize treatments that advance care and add value for ophthalmologists and their patients.  The treatment of glaucoma is increasingly shifting to dropless therapies given the challenges of patient compliance. The XEN45 device provides a minimally invasive approach to lowering IOP [intraocular pressure] for physicians and their patients seeking new ways to treat glaucoma that go beyond conventional eye drop treatments.

According to its website, Allergan is a multi-billion dollar global pharmaceutical company, which focuses on six therapeutic areas: dermatology and aesthetics; CNS; eye care; women’s health and urology; GI and cystic fibrosis; and cardiovascular and infectious disease.  Allergan’s global headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland while its U.S. headquarters are in Parsippany, New Jersey.