Alcon Acquires Aerie For $770 Million, Adding Eye Drops To Portfolio

Eye care veteran Alcon is buying Aerie Pharmaceuticals for an estimated $770 million, the company announced Monday. The acquisition will add Aerie’s commercial eye drops Rocklatan and Rhopressa as well as a pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates to Alcon’s growing ophthalmology portfolio. 

The purchase price of $15.25 per share represents a 37% premium to Aerie’s last closing price. Alcon is funding the transaction through short-term and long-term debt, and expects the deal to close in Q4 of 2022. 

Alcon has an extensive history spanning 75 years selling eye care products. The company was acquired by Novartis for more than $50 billion in 2011 before being spun off in April 2019 to become a separately traded standalone company. 

Related article: Bristol Myers Squibb Completes Third Largest Acquisition of 2022

Rocklatan, Rhopressa And Other Eye Care Products

The Aerie acquisition gives Alcon Rocklatan (netarsudil and latanoprost ophthalmic solution 0.02%/0.005%), a treatment approved for reducing elevated eye pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Rocklatan is a fixed dose combination of netarsudil, a Rho kinase inhibitor, and latanoprost, a prostaglandin F2α analogue. 

Rhopressa (netarsudil ophthalmic solution 0.02%), the second commercial product in the deal, is also indicated to treat glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The ex-US marketing rights for both Rhopressa and Rocklatan have been licensed to Santen, a Japanese pharma. 

Besides the approved eye drops, Alcon will also take over the development of Aerie’s Phase 3 asset for dry eye, AR-15512, as well as several investigational ophthalmology candidates. 

Alcon’s Vision Broadens In Eye Care Space 

Alcon has been busy making acquisitions in the eye drop space. The company purchased US commercialization rights to eye pressure medication Simbrinza from Novartis for $355 million last year. 

This May, Alcon bought corticosteroid anti-inflammatory medicines Eysuvis and Inveltys from Kala Pharmaceutical for $60 million upfront. 

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Joy Lin

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