Merck & Co. is focusing in on eye diseases with the $3 billion acquisition of ophthalmology-focused Eyebiotech.
The deal features $1.3 billion in cash up front and $1.7 billion in potential milestones.
Merck will take on a pipeline of vision loss candidates, including lead asset Restoret, also known as EYE103, which is poised to enter a phase 2b/3 trial for diabetic macular edema (DME). The therapy is a tetravalent, tri-specific antibody that acts as an agonist of the Wingless-related integration site (Wnt) signaling pathway, according to a Wednesday press release.
Restoret has already been tested in a phase 1b/2a trial called AMARONE in DME and neovascular age-related macular degeneration. The phase 2b/3 test is slated to begin in the second half of this year.
Privately held EyeBio emerged just three years ago to advance a retinal disease therapy developed by David Guyer, M.D. He currently serves as CEO and will move over to Merck in the transaction, along with Chief Scientific Officer Tony Adamis, M.D.
“As a subsidiary of Merck, EyeBio will be positioned to tap into the resources and infrastructure needed to support the clinical, regulatory and commercial development of these candidates and help bring them to patients worldwide,” Guyer said in a statement.
Merck sold off part of its ophthalmology business to Akorn Pharmaceuticals in 2013 in a $52.8 million deal that included a handful of approved products. The following year, Merck sold certain rights to its eye drugs to Japan’s Santen for $600 million up front.
The pharma giant has made some efforts to build out a portfolio in eye diseases more recently. However, the journey through the clinic has been difficult. The New Jersey pharma walked away from the bulk of a partnership with NGM Biopharmaceuticals in 2022 after a phase 2 failure. The companies had been developing NGM621, an anti-complement C3 antibody being trialed in patients with an eye degenerative disease called geographic atrophy.