MUMBAI: India’s largest drug maker Sun PharmaBSE 0.56 % announced it agreed to acquire Ocular Technologies from Auven Therapeutics, a private equity firm focused on accelerated development of breakthrough drugs.
Sun will pay Auven $40 million upfront, contingent development milestones, and sales milestones, in addition to royalties on sales of Seciera, a drug used for the treatment of dry eye disease.
Sun is aiming to steadily bolster its specialty ophthalmic drugs pipeline for the global markets, particularly in the US. Its existing pipeline drugs for eye care related diseases in the US include BromSite, DexaSite, and Xelpros.
“This potential acquisition signifies continued momentum in enhancing our global branded specialty portfolio,“ said Dilip Shanghvi, managing director, Sun Pharma.
Seciera is presently in phase three confirmatory clinical trials for dry eye disease that affects 16 million people in the US, according to available data. It is a patented, novel, proprietary formulation and expected to participate in a market that may reach $5 billion by 2020.
It is a clear, preservative-free, aqueous solution. In a completed Phase 2b3 clinical trial in 455 patients, Seciera demonstrated a rapid onset of action and was well tolerated by the study population.
Based on the published data in the literature, the efficacy and safety endpoints in these trials compared favorably to other formulations of cyclosporine A.
“In a completed Phase 2b3 clinical trial in 455 patients, Seciera demonstrated a rapid onset of action and was well tolerated by the study population. Based on the published data in the literature, the efficacy and safety endpoints in these trials compared favourably to other formulations of cyclosporine A,“ a company statement said.
