Mundipharma to buy Merck & Co's glaucoma products

3 December 2015

Mundipharma Ophthalmology Products, a unit of Swiss privately-owned Mundipharma, has signed an agreement with MSD, the operating name for US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) outside the USA and Canada, to acquire MSD's ophthalmology portfolio for the treatment of increased ocular pressure caused by open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

It gains rights to the products in Australia, Canada, Latin America, Middle East, Africa and New Zealand. This marks a key milestone in strengthening Mundipharma's footprint and ongoing investment in specialty care medicines. Financial terms of the transaction were not revealed.

The acquired portfolio consists of Cosopt (dorzolamide and timolol), Cosopt Preservative-Free, Saflutan (tafluprost), Timoptic (timolol maleate), Timoptic XE and Preservative-Free, Trusopt (dorzolamide) and Trusopt Preservative-Free, which cover the primary treatment methods of open-angle glaucoma. Timoptic is on the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines, and an important first line therapy.

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