Part of the portfolio cleanup
Novartis sells eye medicines in US company
06/30/2023, 10:55 p.m
The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is streamlining its range. Several eye medications go to the US company Bausch+Lomb. The deal could be worth as much as $2.5 billion.
The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is selling several eye medications to the American company Bausch+Lomb. Novartis will receive an upfront payment of $1.75 billion and sales-based milestone payments of up to $750 million, the Basel-based company said. The deal includes prescription Xiidra for the treatment of dry eye, rights to use the AcuStream delivery device for dry eye, and two compounds in development. Novartis expects the transaction to close in the second half of the year.
The sale is part of the ongoing portfolio adjustment, with which Novartis wants to focus on fewer therapeutic areas and innovative medicines. The company has been trying to sell parts of it for years. As the next big step, the group has announced the spin-off of the generics division, which should take place in the second half of the year.
Novartis acquired Xiidra from Takeda in Japan in 2019. At that time, an upfront payment of $3.4 billion and milestone payments of up to $1.9 billion were agreed. Sales of the anti-inflammatory eye drops, which are mainly sold in the US market, rose by four percent last year to $487 million. The drug faces competition from AbbVie’s Restasis and cheaper generic products.