Merck compra EyeBio

 

Merck announced it is buying ophthalmology startup EyeBio in a deal worth up to $3 billion Wednesday morning.

Through a subsidiary, the pharma giant is paying $1.3 billion upfront for the eye-focused biotech and could pay another $1.7 billion in milestone payments.

EyeBio’s board of directors unanimously approved the deal, which is still subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in Q3, at which point Merck will record a $1.3 billion charge in its non-GAAP financials.

By scooping up EyeBio, Merck is expanding its ophthalmology offerings and bolstering its vision care pipeline. The prize jewel of the transaction is Restoret (EYE103), a novel, investigational, tetravalent and tri-specific antibody.

Restoret acts as an agonist of the Wingless-related integration site signaling pathway and has shown potential in a Phase 1b/2a trial treating patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD).

Merck stated that Restoret is expected to advance into a Phase 2b/3 trial for treating patients with DME in the second half of the year.

Mas