Alcon has entered into an agreement to acquire ESBATech. Alcon will pay ESBATech shareholders $150m in cash at closing, plus contingent payments of up to $439m based upon the achievement of future research and development milestones.
Reportedly, the agreement to acquire ESBATech includes all rights to its technology for therapeutic application to the eye, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, glaucoma, dry eye and uveitis.
In addition, all of the employees of ESBATech will join Alcon upon the finalisation of the acquisition. The rights to the technology and products for application outside of ophthalmology will be retained by the previous shareholders of ESBATech and spun off into a separate new company, Delenex Therapeutics.
Dominik Escher, CEO of ESBATech, said: “I am very proud of what our team has achieved in proving clinically that our platform delivers therapeutic antibody fragments with required drug-like properties. All of us at ESBATech are excited to join with Alcon to advance this technology further and to develop products to treat serious eye diseases so that more patients can see better.”